April 17, 2023
More local input needed in Auckland flood response
The deputy chair of Auckland Council’s civil defence and emergency management committee says a highly critical report on the council’s response to the Anniversary weekend floods confirmed much of what councillors felt.
The report by former police commissioner Mike Bush identified significant failings in communications, both within council and out to the public and found the system wasn’t fit for purpose.
Whau ward councillor Kerrin Leoni of Ngāti Pāoa says it shows emergency management may have got too centralised during the shift to a super-city, and it needs to get back to local board level so stakeholders like marae can be more involved.
“That’s definitely one way we can head in the right direction, to make sure all our Māori organisations and marae have got those strong working relationships with their local boards and when these incidents occur they can just go into action,” she says.
Ms Leoni says everyone, from the mayor to key officials – herself included – needs to accept the report.