Paula Thompson BOP Regional Councillor www.envbop.govt.nz

The recent flooding is a reminder of the ferociousness of Mother Nature. There will be many whose property has been significantly damaged and whose lives have been severely disrupted.

A walk along many of our Bay of Plenty coastal areas reveal the often incredible extent of erosion taking place and severe weather events, that we have recently experienced, make matters worse.

Councils must act to do what they must to mitigate the risk of hazards. This responsibility takes many forms – one of which is Civil Defence. In the Bay of Plenty, the regional council is the administering authority for regional Civil Defence. Civil Defence is the function that prepares for and coordinates the responses to catastrophic events. These events can be caused by a number of hazards, for example, eruptions, tsunami, storms, earthquakes, fires and so on.

By law each regional, city and district council is required to jointly form a Civil Defence Emergency Management Group and prepare a group plan for operations.

It is one of the functions of local government that is a region-wide responsibility and reflects the need for strong regional capacity, capability, and above all, collaboration and cooperation. It is a function that is absolutely essential and a model for working effectively together for the good of all.