Our 2011 election manifesto - Labour Party

International cooperation
Regarding Civil Defence, New Zealand needs to form greater links with other countries, to
ensure levels of preparedness in our Pacific region are enhanced, to contribute knowledge
internationally on crisis management and to learn from the experiences of others.
Labour will ensure there is more support for participation by Civil Defence staff (and
possibly volunteers) in international events on emergency management. There will
be higher levels of engagement with Pacific Countries on regional strategies for
improving preparedness.
Public awareness and empowering communities
Public awareness campaigns have been successful in the past at encouraging New
Zealanders to prepare for an emergency and what to do in case of an emergency. We need
to build on this progress and ensure that sound public education on preparedness and what
to do in case of an emergency, extends to visitors to New Zealand.
Great campaigns already exist; we need to keep evaluating them and building on their
success. New school resources need to be developed that are up to date and relevant.
Material readily available and accessible to tourists must provide clear Civil Defence &
Emergency Management advice on what steps need to be taken in case of an emergency.
We need to ensure everyone in New Zealand has access to Civil Defence information,
including visitors. Public education needs to be targeted to Māori, Pacific peoples, new
migrants and other non-English speaking groups, as well as people with special needs, the
elderly and children. Campaigns need to take into account the different needs of different
sectors of New Zealand society – e.g. people in rural areas as well as people in urban areas.
Labour will review existing public awareness campaigns to ensure they are working
effectively and reaching all necessary audiences. We will build on those campaigns
that are most successful and, if necessary, fill gaps where they exist.
Although public awareness is an important component of preparedness, there is
nothing that better prepares a community for a disaster than a well-resourced
community with strong community leadership, trusted relationships between that
leadership, the community and the local authority and good communication channels.
Labour will restore the focus on empowering communities so that they can not only
respond to a crisis, they can own their recovery.
For information on our specific response to the Canterbury Earthquakes, see Labour„s
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Plan.
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