We need to learn from Australia

An independent review of the responses to the devastating, fatal and probably deliberately-lit Port Hills fires last February has produced a dozen useful recommendations to improve emergency management in the future. A couple of them stand out.

One is that a public warning and information system should be established as a ‘‘single source of truth’’ so communities can better know and understand what is happening when emergencies are declared in their midst.

Another is that the new government agency Fire and Emergency New Zealand adopt an Australian system called AIIMS to better manage incidents in the future, and that firefighters and other emergency personnel should be trained in its use.

The action taken on these recommendations should go some way towards addressing some of the main concerns arising following the fires, which started on February 13, burned through 1661 hectares and destroyed nine houses. Helicopter pilot Steve Askin died after crashing while fighting the inferno.

Those concerns were essentially that the emergency management response to the fires was confused and lacked focus, and that the communities affected were poorly informed.

Much of the report, written by Alan Goodwin of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, was praiseworthy of the efforts of frontline firefighters, even though the report noted examples of miscommunication.

The report highlighted a need for different agencies to be ‘‘interoperable’’ and work to a single management system. ‘‘A solid, holistic joint strategy was not truly achieved,’’ it said.

That objective will have been made easier since July’s establishment of the single Fire and Emergency NZ agency through the amalgamation of the Fire Service, the National Rural Fire Authority and 38 other regional and district organisations.

The Goodwin report, however, goes a step further in suggesting the adoption of AIIMS – the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System – which is used in every Australian state to respond to bushfires and other large emergencies.

New Zealand already uses a similar system, the New Zealand Co-ordinated Incident Management System, and this has been refined by particularly Kiwi experiences.

However, the Goodwin report suggested there is now a ‘‘unique opportunity’’ for the new Fire and Emergency NZ organisation to join the Australian model, which is well-resourced and includes comprehensive training.

There is obviously merit in at least considering a switch to the Australian way of doing things, but not at the expense of New Zealand’s accumulated wisdom and experience. Whether and how we would benefit is for the experts to decide.