.....but Labour will provide one, along with some guaranteed jobs for Māori
The weight being given to “Treaty of Waitangi” provisions in legislation drafted by the Labour government can be measured by a quick reading of the Emergency Management Bill.
The bill has a Treaty clause. The legislation which it will replace – the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 – made no mention of the Treaty.
The Treaty clause in the Emergency Management Bill “sets out ways in which the Bill recognises and respects the Crown’s responsibility to give effect to te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi”.
In an election year, some of the Treaty-based provisions look likely to rekindle Opposition party concerns about co-governance and the meaning of “partnership”.
The biIl’s explanatory note says Māori play a significant role in emergency management, responding swiftly to emergencies, and providing valuable insights to inform risk reduction, readiness, response, and recovery activities.
But “their roles are not formally recognised under the 2002 Act”.
This suggests they were treated the same as all other citizens.
The new bill “recognises and enhances Māori participation in the emergency management system at national, regional, and local levels and across governance, planning, and operational activity, including” by —
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty explained to Newsroom last December why Maori should be guaranteed representation on emergency management bodies:
“Every time there’s been a natural disaster that’s required a response, it’s marae that’ve opened their doors and fed the people … Kaikōura’s a perfect example. So when it’s now got to the point where it’s almost expected or anticipated that Māori will step forward in the response phase, it makes sense that they have a guaranteed presence on the committees that plan for such responses.”
His press statement yesterday announcing the bill’s introduction includes the provisions for Māori among three key changes from the 2002 legislation:
The biIl’s explanatory note says Māori play a significant role in emergency management, responding swiftly to emergencies, and providing valuable insights to inform risk reduction, readiness, response, and recovery activities.
But “their roles are not formally recognised under the 2002 Act”.
This suggests they were treated the same as all other citizens.
The new bill “recognises and enhances Māori participation in the emergency management system at national, regional, and local levels and across governance, planning, and operational activity, including” by —
- introducing a requirement to include Māori members on Emergency Management Committees and Emergency Management Co-ordinating Executives (currently referred to as Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups and Coordinating Executive Groups in the 2002 Act):
- establishing a National Māori Emergency Management Advisory Group to advise the Director of Emergency Management on Māori interests and knowledge, as they relate to the purpose and functions of emergency management:
- requiring Emergency Management Committees to engage with Māori on the development of emergency management committee plans.
Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty explained to Newsroom last December why Maori should be guaranteed representation on emergency management bodies:
“Every time there’s been a natural disaster that’s required a response, it’s marae that’ve opened their doors and fed the people … Kaikōura’s a perfect example. So when it’s now got to the point where it’s almost expected or anticipated that Māori will step forward in the response phase, it makes sense that they have a guaranteed presence on the committees that plan for such responses.”
His press statement yesterday announcing the bill’s introduction includes the provisions for Māori among three key changes from the 2002 legislation:
- clarifying roles and responsibilities across the system at national, regional, and local levels
- requiring Civil Defence Emergency Management Group plans to identify and engage with communities that are disproportionately impacted by emergencies
- recognising the important role Māori play in New Zealand’s emergency management system and enhancing Māori participation at all levels – national, regional, and local, and across strategic, planning, and operational activity.
The minister’s press statement can be found on the government’s official website alongside press statements which include the announcement of Government investments in a bioenergy plant, research into biomass and better forestry practices.
Alongside $10 million to immediately clean up slash and debris in Tairāwhiti and other weather-hit areas announced ahead of Budget 2023, the Government is investing a further $10.4 million into woody biomass research.
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The Government is making a start on a more sustainable forestry industry with investments into a bioenergy plant search into biomass and better forestry practices.
Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson and Disability Issues Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan have wished the 39-strong New Zealand Special Olympics squad heading to Berlin the best of luck.
A proposed temporary law change would enable rural Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti landowners dealing with masses of cyclone and flood debris to burn mixed waste so they can replant and return their land to productivity.
Legislation introduced in Parliament today will ensure New Zealand’s emergency management system learns the lessons of recent and previous responses to natural disasters, including severe weather events and other emergencies.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka met in Wellington this morning, reaffirming the strength and spirit of New Zealand and Fiji’s relationship, as outlined in the Duavata Relationship Statement of Partnership.
Primary teachers have agreed to the Government’s pay offer which will see the top base salary step rise to $100,000 by December next year.
The Government’s intention to introduce emergency response law was foreshadowed in the aforementioned Newsroom article which highlighted the intention to make special provisions for Māori:
Concerns over the quality of New Zealand’s emergency response led to the creation of a new agency several years ago. Now, a new law to back up those changes is finally coming – but its provisions relating to Māori are already attracting criticism.
This report said the country’s emergency response capabilities came under review “after a muddled response to the Kaikoura earthquake in 2016 as well as the Port Hills fire in 2017”.
The review resulted in the replacement of the civil defence ministry with a new National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in 2019 and the creation of “fly-in teams” made up of national experts.
Changes to the decades-old law underpinning the system have been longer in coming, despite the expert review raising concerns about gaps in the current law which led to confusion over who had authority in certain situations and the role of Māori.
The implication is that the new legislation should distinguish the role played by Māori from the role played by all other citizens.
Kieran McAnulty discussed the proposed legislation with Newsroom, saying its introduction had been delayed by the discoveries of more issues with the current law in need of improvement.
Extra time was needed, too, for consultation with all the other parliamentary parties on the Government’s plans, to both make use of others’ expertise and secure cross-party consensus on the changes.
Newsroom mentioned a paper taken to Cabinet by former Emergency Management Minister Kiri Allan. She had been given permission to reverse the Government’s initial opposition to include iwi and Māori members on ‘joint committees’ tasked with leading the emergency management response in each region.
Allan proposed iwi and Māori elect two members with full voting rights to each committee, with additional changes made to more clearly set out their role in the system, and to require civil defence and emergency management groups to collaborate with Māori and iwi on regional plans.
McAnulty said the Government had since dropped the requirement to have two iwi and Māori members, saying “a minimum could quickly become a ceiling” and it would be better for each region to decide what was best for them.
National Party emergency management spokesman Gerry Brownlee told Newsroom his party would be unlikely to support “unnecessary” provisions around the role of Māori in the emergency management system.
“Let me be very clear, because it can sound like you’re just completely redneck and have nothing to do with anything that’s Māori – that’s not where I’m at, at all.
“What I’m saying is, this is emergency management stuff … and what you need is the best people in the job to do those jobs. To specify that actually there is a difference for one group in our community than others is an absurdity.”
The new bill’s explanatory note says the Bill, which includes “a descriptive Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi clause”, comes into force on the day after the date of Royal assent.
But “some aspects of the Bill require delayed commencement”, including—
- extending the permanent legislative authority to provide for direct reimbursement of costs to Māori:
- establishing the National Māori Emergency Management Advisory Group.
Point of Order is a blog focused on politics and the economy run by veteran newspaper reporters Bob Edlin and Ian Templeton
2 comments:
FFS!! What could possibly go wrong??
"The Treaty of Waitangi clause also provides for iwi or Māori organisations to be reimbursed “for certain welfare expenses” incurred in connection with an emergency."
What about Red Cross, Salvation Army, St. John and all the others who step up to the plate and provide welfare.
Oh thats OK, its just that Maori are specifically mentioned for reimbursment.
Another race base Law.
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