The guiding document for how civil defence and emergency management is conducted in Manawatū-Whanganui is under review and open for public feedback.

Horizons Regional Council manager emergency management Chay Hook says the Manawatū-Whanganui Emergency Management Group Plan is the guiding document for responding to and recovering from major events in the region.

“The current group plan was published in 2016 and had minor updates throughout its life,” says Mr Hook.

“However, there have been a number of significant events across Aotearoa New Zealand since 2016, including the Covid-19 pandemic and Cyclone Gabrielle. These events provided many lessons for the future management of emergencies.”

While the review of the group plan is a requirement under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act, it also provides a chance to ensure the plan reflects changes and lessons learned from various emergency management responses, says Mr Hook.

“This includes ensuring our plan details the role of iwi and Māori in emergency management, updates to our regional risk profile based off of new research, and aligning our goals and objectives to national strategies.”

Public submissions on the group plan are crucial to the process, says Mr Hook.

“We want our group plan to reflect the people who live, work and play in the region. It is important the plan reflects all parts of our community.”

Submissions on the group plan are open from 30 September until 31 October, and can be made online at https://haveyoursay.horizons.govt.nz.

People can stay up to date with civil defence emergency management activity in the region via the Manawatū-Whanganui Civil Defence Facebook page.