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Emergency
Committee
02 April 2020
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Emergency
Powers during state of national emergency
File No.: CP2020/04241
Te take mō te
pūrongo
Purpose of the report
1. To
provide a general explanation of the emergency powers and roles that apply
during the current state of national emergency relating to COVID-19, to seek a
delegation from the committee of its emergency powers to the Group Controller,
and to ratify any decisions taken by the Group Controller under those emergency
powers since a state of national emergency was declared on 25 March 2020.
Whakarāpopototanga matua
Executive summary
2. On
Wednesday 25 March 2020, the Government declared a state of national emergency
under the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 (CDEMA) in order
to manage the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in New Zealand. The Minister of
Civil Defence took this step because it is considered that what is required to
combat COVID-19 is of such a degree that it will require a coordinated response
from local and central government.
3. The
declaration activated a number of powers of various actors at both the national
and local level, including the national Director of Civil Defence Emergency
Management (Director), the National Controller, local Civil Defence Emergency
Management Groups and local Group Controllers.
4. An
explanation of the emergency powers that apply during the current state of
national emergency relating to COVID-19, and the roles of the various actors
involved in responding to the emergency, is contained in Attachment A to this
report.
5. For
the period in which the Emergency Committee is in operation, it is deemed to be
the statutory committee required under section 12(1) of CDEMA, and will
have all the functions and powers of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management
Group Committee (CDEM)as set out in the Governing Body Terms of Reference (GB/2020/32). This report is
therefore being brought to the Emergency Committee in its capacity as the CDEM
Group under CDEMA.
6. The
CDEM Group has a number of powers during an emergency conferred on it under
section 85 of CDEMA. In practice, the section 85 powers of CDEM Groups are
generally delegated to the Group Controller to enable the efficient and
effective use of those powers during emergencies. As there is no standing
delegation in place, staff recommend that this committee delegate those powers
to the Group Controller.
7. Since the declaration of national emergency, the Group Controller
has also been taking decisions under the direction of the Director of Civil
Defence Emergency Management that are necessary to respond to the evolving
situation. To ensure that there is no question over the legal validity of those
decisions, staff recommend that the Committee ratify all decisions taken by the
Group Controller since the declaration of a national emergency on 25 March
2020.
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Ngā tūtohunga
Recommendation/s
That the Emergency Committee:
in its
capacity as the Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group under Civil
Defence Emergency Management Act 2002:
a) note
the general explanation of the emergency powers and roles that apply during
the current state of national emergency relating to COVID-19;
b) delegate
to the Group Controller all emergency powers conferred on the Group by
section 85 of Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002; and
c) ratify
any decisions of the Group Controller exercising the emergency powers under
section 85 of Civil Defence Emergency Management Act
2002 taken since the declaration of a state of
national emergency on 25 March 2020.
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Horopaki
Context
8. For
the period in which the Emergency Committee is in operation, it is deemed to be
the statutory committee required under section 12(1) of CDEMA, and will
have all the functions and powers of the Civil Defence and Emergency Management
Group Committee as set out in the Governing Body Terms of Reference.[1] This
report is therefore being brought to the Emergency Committee in its capacity as
the CDEM Group under CDEMA.
9. On
Wednesday 25 March 2020, the Government declared a state of national emergency
under CDEMA in order to manage the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in New
Zealand. The Minister of Civil Defence took this step because it is considered
that what is required to combat COVID-19 is of such a degree that it will require
a coordinated response from local and central government.
10. Since
the declaration of a national emergency the Group Controller and Auckland
Emergency Management have been providing support to the All of Government
health-led, phased response, prioritising and co-ordinating the regional
non-health Civil Defence and Emergency Management interagency response and
sharing and collaborating with partner agencies on the provision of materials,
services, information and any other resources.
11. This
has required the Group Controller to take decisions to, amongst other things:
· provide for the relief of distress, including emergency
food;
· to prohibit or regulate land, air, and water traffic; and
· to disseminate information and advice to the
public.
12. To
ensure that the Group Controller has the necessary powers to continue to take
these actions it is necessary that the CDEM Group delegate its powers under
section 85 of CDEMA to the Group Controller.
Tātaritanga me ngā
tohutohu
Analysis and advice
13. The
key actors in the current state of national emergency and the key legislation
applying in the current COVID-19 pandemic are set out in Attachment A to this
advice.
14. It
is important to note that because a state of national emergency has been
declared, the response will be largely driven by the national Director of Civil
Defence Emergency Management. This is because during a state of national
emergency, the Director has the power to control the performance of the
functions and duties, and the exercise of the powers of CDEM Groups and Group
Controllers.[2]
15. The
specific powers of the CDEM Group that apply when a state of emergency is in
force are set out in s 85 of CDEMA. Under s 85 the CDEM
Group has powers (in this case to be exercised under the control of the
Director) to:
· carry out, or require to be carried out, works and clearing
roads and other public places
· provide for the rescue of endangered persons and their
removal to areas of safety
· set up first aid posts, and provide for first aid to be
given to casualties
· provide for the relief of distress, including emergency
food, clothing, and shelter
· provide for the conservation and supply of food, fuel, and
other essential supplies
· prohibit or regulate land, air, and water traffic
· undertake emergency measures for the disposal of dead
persons or animals
· disseminate information and advice to the public
· enter into arrangements, including employment arrangements,
with any person for the purpose of carrying out civil defence emergency management
· provide equipment, accommodation, and facilities for the
exercise of any of the above powers.
16. In
practice, the section 85 powers of CDEM Groups are generally delegated to the
Group Controller to enable the efficient and effective use of those powers
during emergencies. This delegation is usually included in the Civil Defence
Emergency Management Group Plans that CDEM Groups must adopt under section 48
of CDEMA or made by CDEM Groups during an event.[3]
17. Auckland
Council’s Civil Defence Emergency Group Plan does not include such a
delegation and no delegation has yet been made in the context of this national
emergency. To ensure that Group Controllers are empowered to take decisions on
an urgent basis, staff recommend that all powers conferred on the CDEM Group
under section 85 CDEMA are delegated to Group Controllers.
18. Group
Controllers will continue to provide elected members with situation reports on
a daily basis and will formally report back to the CDEM Group on decisions made
under delegated authority and financial expenditure on a monthly basis.
19. To ensure that the actions that the Group Controller has already
taken since the declaration of a national emergency are legally valid, staff
also recommend that decisions taken by the Group Controller since the
declaration of national emergency exercising powers under section 85 of CDEMA
are ratified.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
āhuarangi
Climate impact statement
20. The delegation of statutory powers by the CDEM Group to Group Controllers
is a procedural matter. The decision is unlikely to result in any identifiable
changes to greenhouse gas emissions.
Ngā whakaaweawe me
ngā tirohanga a te rōpū Kaunihera
Council group impacts and views
21. The
CDEM Group and the role of Group Controller are both statutory roles under the
Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. There are no impacts for the
Council group arising from the delegation of powers from the CDEM Group to
Group Controllers.
Ngā whakaaweawe
ā-rohe me ngā tirohanga a te poari ā-rohe
Local impacts and local board views
22. The
CDEM Group and the role of Group Controller are both statutory roles under the
Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002. There are no local impacts arising
from the delegation of powers from the CDEM Group to Group Controllers.
Tauākī whakaaweawe
Māori
Māori impact statement
23. Group Controllers are committed to Auckland Council’s
Māori Responsiveness Framework. Since the declaration of a national
emergency, a new Māori specific function, Pouwhakarae, has been set up
under Auckland Emergency Management. Pouwhakarae is distributing health-related
information provided by the National Health Response Coordination Centre (run
by the Ministry of Health) to Māori communities, responding to enquiries
and requests from iwi, hapū, whānau and marae and collating offers of
support from iwi, hapū, whānau and marae.
Ngā ritenga
ā-pūtea
Financial implications
24. There
are no financial implications arising from this report.
Ngā raru tūpono me ngā
whakamaurutanga
Risks and mitigations
25. Section
85 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002 confers various powers on
the CDEM Group. In Auckland, Group Controllers have the relevant expertise and
ability to exercise these powers and are best placed to do so.
26. The
exercise of these powers is often required on an urgent basis and it is
essential that the Group Controller is able to respond without delay to
directions from the Minister or the Director.
27. Group
Controllers will report back to the CDEM Group on decisions made under
delegated authority.
28. Ratifying the decisions taken by Group Controllers since the
declaration of a state of national emergency will ensure the legal validity of
decisions already taken under urgency
Ngā koringa ā-muri
Next steps
29. Group
Controllers will continue to provide elected members with situation reports on
a daily basis and will formally report back to the CDEM Group on decisions made
under delegated authority and financial expenditure on a monthly basis.
Ngā tāpirihanga
Attachments
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No.
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Title
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Page
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a⇩
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Emergency Powers during a State of National Emergency
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11
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Ngā kaihaina
Signatories
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Author
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Meredith Webb – Manager Public Law
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Authorisers
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Dani Gardiner - General Counsel
Phil Wilson - Governance Director
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