The better prepared we are for emergency events the better, especially for communities out west.
That’s why Waitākere Ranges Local Board has welcomed the opportunity to appoint members to the newly created Local Board Emergency Readiness and Response Forum.
Members Mark Allen, Sandra Coney and Linda Potauaine were nominated as the board leads to the forum, with member Liz Manley as an alternate.
The forum has been created following the 2023 floods and Cyclone Gabrielle and will be coordinated by Auckland Emergency Management (AEM).
Its role for local board members, who play an increasingly important role in emergency management, is to work together to strengthen their role in emergency readiness and response.
Waitākere Ranges Local Board Chair Greg Presland says that the forum is a welcome step for local boards to be involved in the planning for, and response to, emergencies.
“The impact of the 2023 floods and cyclone Gabrielle was significant, devastating even, on the Waitākere Ranges area, and will forever be etched on the memory of those caught up in them,” he says.
“There were many lessons learned during and after the event, one of which is the importance of local board members during a response.
“Our members were on the ground, with access to communities that other parts of the response were not and were an important conduit of official information in both directions during the events.
“So, creation of this forum is welcome because it won’t be the last extreme event we will need to deal with in the future, and the more prepared we can be, the better.
“Local boards are on the coal face of community engagement, so it makes sense for us to be more involved in helping communicate important information and provide on the ground intelligence during a response.”
Adam Maggs, Auckland Emergency Management General Manager says the forum will play an important role.
“The establishment of this forum marks a critical step toward bolstering our collective preparedness in the west and will harness local insights to build the readiness capabilities of local boards for future emergencies. AEM is pleased to support the initiative by leading the coordination, and together we look forward to the benefits this forum will provide the community.”
All local boards have been invited to appoint up to three members to the forum.
The first meeting of the forum will be held in July 2024.
