Best of the best: Disaster response earns praise and awards

Gisborne District Council won two out of the five awards presented at the Local Government NZ conference, including for its “holy grail” disaster response technology. 

But while Gisborne’s mayor celebrated the wins, she said it was also the sad reality of being hit by frequent severe storms and the need to keep residents safe. 

Council leaders from around the motu gathered for the awards ceremony held as part of the conference in Wellington last week. 

The judges described Gisborne District Council’s Emergency Management Common Operating Picture Project, which captures real-time data for responders, as “the holy grail of disaster response” when it won the SuperIdea Award. 

The judges also praised the council for its partnership skills when it won the SuperCollab Award for its Marae Emergency and Preparedness Resilience project. 

Gisborne District Council (GDC) was the only council to win more than one award. 

Mayor Rehette Stoltz told Local Democracy Reporting it was fantastic to be acknowledged for the work the council had done. 

The council’s civil defence team had plenty of opportunities to fine-tune their response because of the region’s many severe weather events, she said. 

But when reflecting on the past four years, she said “it has been so tough in that space”. 

The silver lining was that the region was now a leader in Civil Defence and emergency management, she said. 

“We know that because every council is keen to come and visit us and look at what we have put together.” 

Stoltz said the awards recognised Tairāwhiti communities coming together and looking after each other, from iwi and hapū leaders to forestry, Federated Farmers, police, and “everyone who is part of our civil organisation”. 

“This is not just a recognition of the district council Civil Defence team.” Gisborne has experienced 16 extreme weather events since 2017, and Stoltz said although it was a proud moment to be acknowledged, it was also sad. 

“We were getting these awards, which is fantastic ...  But these awards are for us having a duty, to ensure our people are safe,” she said. 

Stoltz said the marae project was a collaboration between Tairāwhiti’s four iwi and was signed off during Covid. 

Even before Cyclone Gabrielle the team were ready with 19 disaster-equipped pods delivered to the region’s most isolated communities, she said. 

The judges said the project showed collaboration with marae could overcome isolation barriers and enhance community preparedness. 

The Emergency Management Common Operating Picture Project, which won the SuperIdea Award, captures trusted real-time data and displays it on a 55-inch touchscreen TV in the Emergency Coordination Centre. 

Stoltz said during Cyclone Gabrielle the team could see how many people needed food parcels, what kaumātua [elderly people] needed to be checked on, how many roads were cut off. 

“We have so many councils that want to bring their Civil Defence teams to come in and learn from Ben [Green, council Civil Defence emergency manager] and his team,” she said. 

Judges said the key thing was getting stakeholder agreement to share data. 

“The success of this project is a tribute to the personal skills and persuasiveness of key people who made it happen. It should be a model for the whole of Aotearoa,” they said. 

LGNZ president Sam Broughton congratulated the winners, finalists, and all councils that entered the awards. 

“Councils have so many unsung heroes delivering for their communities. It’s a privilege to celebrate these outstanding projects and teams,” he said. 

In addition to the wins, LGNZ members voted to adopt GDC’s remit on pushing for councils to have more power to stop the deterioration of empty buildings. 

Additionally, LGNZ councils voted the local government Māori constituencies and wards should not be subject to a referendum, which GDC has previously spoken in support of. 

Stoltz said her biggest takeaway from the conference was how to move forward in financially restrained times. 

“But I am heartened by the fact that I know our three-year plan is 100% laser-focused on the basics.” 

“I would say 99.5% of our money in the three-year plan would be on the three main issues, which would be infrastructure, flood control and our resource management plan – making sure our regulations are fit for purpose,” she said. 

During the conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon told councils they needed to keep their plans to the basics. 

LDR is local body journalism  

co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.