26 February 2019
Media: Daily Post
Topic: Civil defence response to April 2018 flooding in Rotorua
Enquiry
I have got an OIA back from MSD about their role in the flood response and links with other agencies involved . . . The OIA files list a couple of points that I should really get response from the Rotorua Lakes Council about. These are below.
Q1: The OIA says the state of emergency was wrongly declared for Ngongotaha, and it should have been for entire district.
- Why was it not widened?
- When did the council became aware it should have been wider?
- How will this be assessed differently in future?
Q2: It also says local welfare groups were underprepared and unaware of all their roles and responsibilities.
- Does the Rotorua Lakes Council agree? Why/why not?
Q3: It also says CDEM local level response experienced some initial confusion meaning that emergency accommodation was referred to MSD to organise and MSD then had to refer it back to the council "in what was already a confused and distressing situation". (Pasted below for context if required).
- Do you agree? Why/why not?
Feedback from the Region suggests that the CDEM local level response experienced some initial confusion around responsibilities. As a result (in some cases) things like assistance with emergency accommodation were not addressed as official arrangements indicate they should have been. This led to the Council referring some people needing emergency accommodation directly to MSD rather than the Council arranging accommodation for them.
In cases where people who had evacuated were referred to MSD by the CDEM/Council Emergency Operations Centre
(EOC), assistance was provided rather than referring them back to the EOC in what was an already confused and distressing situation."
Q4: The OIA says there was a lack of clear process to collect and collate information about evacuees.
- Do you agree? Why/why not?
Q5: Finally, it says council had to seek legal advice about enforcing insanitary notices and the risks to tenants if they remained in their homes.
- Why was legal advice needed? Could you please provide what the cost was for this?
Response
Responses from Rotorua Lakes Council Primary Civil Defence Emergency Controller Stavros Michael:
Note that one of the responses covers 3 questions.
Q1: A localised state of emergency was declared for Ngongotaha due to the severity of flooding there and the need at the time, determined by emergency services and the civil defence controller, to evacuate some residents for their safety. A state of emergency was not required for the rest of the district.
Q2, 3, 4: All decisions made and actions taken during the 2018 flood event were based on the best information available at the time and with a focus on community safety and assistance.
This was a sudden and rare event. Our top priority was the initial safety and welfare of residents and any procedural issues that arose were addressed and resolved.
There is no value to the community in us debating or speculating via media about opinions expressed or statements made by staff from another organisation during the course of email discussions we were not part of and therefore don't have a full understanding of.
As is normal and proper practice following a civil defence emergency, we have had a full debrief and review with staff from all agencies and organisations that were involved. The focus of that debrief was on learning from our experiences as part of ongoing efforts to improve emergency preparedness and response.
This also helps to inform ongoing work with communities to develop Community Response Plans that build local preparedness and resilience, which is where civil defence staff are focussing their efforts at present. A key aspect of that work is helping communities understand how they can help each other and themselves in an emergency situation, particularly if they were cut off from other sources of help. Communities our staff are currently working with include Tarawera, Ngongotaha and Waikite Valley.
Q5: We sought legal advice regarding enforcement of insanitary notices as we had a couple of residents refusing to leave homes which had been declared insanitary. We wanted to take a humanitarian approach but needed to understand our liability in doing so. The cost of the legal advice was $5000.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Media: Daily Post + RotoruaNOW (Sunlive)
Topic: Air NZ cheap domestic flights
Enquiry
Reporters from Rotorua Daily Post and RotoruaNOW/Sunlive asked for comment/reaction from Mayor Chadwick to today's announcement by Air NZ regarding domestic airfares:
Media release
26 February 2019
Air New Zealand shrinks Rotorua lead-in fares
The airline will shrink its lowest fares on 41 domestic routes as part of the biggest overhaul of its domestic pricing structure in more than a decade, making travel more affordable than ever for Kiwis.
Fares between Rotorua and Auckland now start at $39, Wellington is available from $49 and its now $59 one-way to Christchurch.
Air New Zealand Head of Tourism & Regional Affairs Reuben Levermore says it's now even more affordable for people in Rotorua to explore the rest of New Zealand.
It's fantastic people in Rotorua can travel within the North Island for as little as $39 and to the South Island from as low as $59.
The new fares are available for purchase from today at www.airnz.co.nz for travel from 25 March 2019.
Response
From Mayor Steve Chadwick:
Any initiative that benefits our local travellers and our visitors is certainly welcome.
The lowest fares don't apply for all flights but I'm sure that many Rotorua residents, and visitors to Rotorua, will take advantage of the new prices on these key routes to and from our city.
The Daily Post also sought comment from Destination Rotorua CE Michelle Templer who provided the following:
We welcome any initiative that strengthens links between Rotorua and our key domestic markets of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
We know that the cost of flights is an important consideration for many domestic travellers so today's announcement of cheaper fares on some Rotorua flights is good news for our visitors.
