Ministers support reliable local infrastructure

  • Nikki Kaye
  • Paula Bennett
Local Government Civil Defence

An establishment board will be formed to assess whether local government’s management of the risks from natural hazards to infrastructure and other assets can be strengthened.

The $1.6 million initiative will be jointly funded by the Crown and Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), Local Government Minister Paula Bennett and Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye say.

The board will work closely with local authorities, LGNZ, and officials from the Department of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management and The Treasury, to investigate the feasibility of a local government agency dedicated to risk management and insurance.

If it considers the proposed agency should be established, it will prepare a business case for the Government to consider.

“It is important the local government sector is able to manage risks to key community infrastructure as effectively as it can,” Mrs Bennett says.

“The board’s investigation of the feasibility of a dedicated local government risk management agency will make an important contribution towards achieving this.”

A concurrent review will also look at the existing funding arrangement between central and local government to restore certain infrastructure after emergencies, such as for water, wastewater, stormwater and river flood control. Under this arrangement, the government reimburses councils up to 60% of certain restoration costs.  

“This arrangement was established more than 20 years ago, and much has changed since then,” Ms Kaye said. 

“We now know more about local government infrastructure, we have learned from major emergencies, and the insurance market is very different. We have asked officials to consider what the best ways to respond to these changes are.”

The appointees to the establishment board are:

  • Craig Stobo (Chair)
  • Hugh Cowan - General Manager of Reinsurance, Research and Education, EQC
  • Lawrence Yule - President, LGNZ
  • Basil Chamberlain - Chief Executive, Taranaki Regional Council
  • Jim Palmer - Chief Executive, Waimakariri District Council
  • Garry Poole - Chief Executive, Tauranga City Council

Two further members will be appointed to the board in coming weeks. A senior staff member from The Treasury will also participate as an observer on the board. 

It is expected that the establishment board will provide a comprehensive report to Ministers and LGNZ on the feasibility of the proposed agency by June 2016.