Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan, 2010

1.2 THE NORTHLAND CONTEXT1.2.1 THE REGIONThe area covered by the CDEM Group andthis Plan is shown in Figure 1. It includes theFar North, Whangarei and Kaipara Districtsand the coastal marine area to the seawardboundary of 12 nautical miles.Northland covers around 5% of thecountry’s total land area. It is a 260kilometre long narrow peninsula, 80 kmacross at its widest point and just 10 kmwide at its narrowest point with over3,000km of coastline made up of ruggedcliffs, sandy beaches and shelteredharbours. Nearly 14% of the land area ofNorthland remains in native forests andscrub land.Northland is New Zealand’s least urbanisedregion, with around 50% of the populationliving in urban areas and an average densitymuch lower than the NZ average (totalpopulation was 148,470 in the 2006Census).As a consequence of this dispersed andoften isolated population, the generalapproach to CDEM is one of centralised coordinationwith localised delivery.Figure 1: Area covered by the Northland CDEM Group Plan Refer Section 2.2 for further information on the CDEM Group Environment.1.2.2 THE NORTHLAND CDEM GROUPThe Northland Group is governed by a joint committee of elected representatives from the Whangarei, Kaipara,and Far North District Councils and the Northland Regional Council, supported on the committee byrepresentatives of the Police and Fire Service. The functions of the Group are detailed in s.17 of the CDEM Act(2002); one of these functions is to develop, approve, implement and monitor a CDEM Plan.Supporting the CDEM Group is the Northland CEG, a statutory group comprising Chief Executive Officers (or seniorrepresentatives) of local authorities, senior emergency services managers and the Northland District Health Board.CEG implements the decisions of the CDEM Group and provides them with strategic advice.The Group is funded by members to a level acceptable to each member. The local authorities employ staff tomanage the local CDEM work programmes agreed by the Northland CDEM Group. The Group’s EmergencyManagement Office co-ordinates the implementation of the Group’s programmes.The Group CDEM Office, which is physically located at the Northland Regional Council, provides technical andplanning support to the CEG.The Group’s only bordering neighbour is the Auckland CDEM Group. Refer Section 8 for further details on the Group’s functions and operations.Northland Civil Defence Emergency Management Plan, 2010-2015 Page 10