Emergency Management Bill
The Governance and Administration Committee has called for submissions on the Emergency Management Bill.
The Emergency Management Bill would replace the Civil Defence Emergency Act 2002 which provides powers for managing emergencies at local, regional, and national levels.
Submissions on the proposed Bill are being accepted until 3 November 2023.
The NZVA will be making a submission on behalf of members. Primarily, we believe there is ambiguity across New Zealand legislation about what actions can be taken to ensure the welfare of animals in an emergency, and we want this ambiguity to be removed. The NZVA also recommends that the Bill be amended to make it clear that during emergency management activities:
- animals are covered (in addition to people and property)
- animals can be ‘seized’ for their safety/rescue
- entry on to premises is allowed to rescue animals, just as it is to rescue humans. We understand the Act already allows for access on to properties (including farms). The clarification we seek relates to buildings on properties.
We encourage you to make your own submission to help us ensure animals are included in the new Bill.
To help you make your submission, we have created a template for you and/or your workplace to use. The template includes our recommendations, but you are free to remove, edit or add to these as you see fit. To make your submission stand out, we recommend adding a few short paragraphs about why you are making the submission. This could include your own experiences in a disaster situation or some general comments about supporting the veterinary profession.
Please note that submissions are publicly released and published to the Parliament website. Only your name or organisation’s name is required on a submission.
| Read the Emergency Management Bill |
| Make a submission on the proposed Bill |
| Download the NZVA's submission template |
| Read the NZVA's submission |
