Emergency Management Bill

The Government has introduced the Emergency Management Bill (No 2) to replace the outdated Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002.

This significant reform follows the devastating impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle, Cyclone Hale and the 2023 Auckland floods, which highlighted that the existing system lacked the capacity and capability to manage complex, multi-regional emergencies.

HortNZ has closely monitored this process and largely supports the policy positions included in the new Bill.

The Bill aims to implement higher minimum standards across:

•  Risk reduction
• Readiness
• Response
• Recovery.

For growers, several key outcomes are promising.

The legislation focuses on making sure essential services like electricity, transport and water are well planned for, properly resourced and kept in good shape, so responses and recovery can happen faster and more effectively when something goes wrong.

Even though horticulture isn’t specifically named as “essential infrastructure” in the main law, the new requirements to reduce disruption to key services should help get things back up and running faster and support growers to keep producing following adverse events.

The Bill also mandates a stronger coordination and collaboration across local, regional and national agencies.

Government agencies will have a clearer, stronger mandate and accountability regarding natural disasters while the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will expand their responsibilities for floods, heavy rain and hail events through secondary legislation.

The Bill also ensures New Zealand will have a system that strengthens local hazard management and the inclusion of wider communities (including horticulture operations and iwi) into Civil Defence and Emergency Management planning. 

The Select Committee is due to report back by June 9, with enactment expected later this year.

Our focus will be to ensure that horticulture's specific needs are firmly embedded in regional emergency planning, providing growers with greater clarity and resilience during future adverse events.