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New Zealand emergency services are in strife. The Department of Internal Affairs uses the Fire Service as a political tool, effectively sullying a most noble occupation. Something needs to be done. United Future New Zealand proposes several important and decisive steps to solve these problems and to improve our emergency services.
United Future New Zealand's Emergency Services Policy unifies the emergency services on a policy and funding level yet enables them to keep their distinct individual roles. Services will better be able to work jointly or individually, as needed, in times of local emergency. They will also co-ordinate effectively during a major national emergency. United Future New Zealand's policy will give emergency services the distinct attention in government they deserve. It therefore appropriately removes the control of emergency services from the Department of Internal Affairs.
UNITED FUTURE WILL
- Establish a Minister of Fire and Emergency Services to remove the present ambiguous relationship between Fire and Rescue Services and the Department of Internal Affairs.
- Abolish the Fire Service Commission and the present Ministry of Civil Defence and replace them with a Fire and Emergency Services Authority. FESA will be directly responsible to the Minister of Fire and Emergency Services and completely separated from the control of the Department of Internal Affairs.
- Re-establish the Fire Service as a fully integrated Fire and Rescue Service composed of permanent and volunteer personnel. This new service will be funded through an equitable regime based on life and property risk values consistent over both private and commercial sectors - as recommended by the Fire Service Commission and the Insurance Council in 1996.
The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) will:
- Assume responsibility for funding, auditing, and purchase and contract agreements.
- Develop policy and establish and monitor national operational standards to ensure the better coordination of emergency services.
- Fund the establishment of three common communication centres nationwide to handle all emergency calls.
- Integrate and coordinate the different emergency services on both national and local levels.
- Fund the Fire and Rescue emergency services through a fair levy system based on life and property risks. This funding system would seek to better equip emergency services while also co-ordinating effective use of resources such as buildings, equipment and expertise.
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