It will be led by retired Court of Appeal judge Denis Clifford
The government has appointed an independent review panel as part of its effort to support communities recovering from the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle. The independent review panel, led by retired Court of Appeal judge Denis Clifford, will oversee decisions made under the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act.
The Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act was one of the bills recently passed in response to Cyclones Hale and Gabrielle and other heavy rain and flooding events that affected the North Island earlier this year. It provided Aotearoa New Zealand’s governor-general the power to make orders in council that would modify, exempt, or extend the provisions of certain legislation upon the recommendation of the relevant minister. It aimed to speed up cyclone recovery by foregoing the usual amendment process to achieve the purposes of the Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act and related laws.
Associate Cyclone Recovery Minister Barbara Edmonds described the members of the panel as having “extensive experience and knowledge across local Māori communities, law, emergency management, local government, primary industries, and rural interests” in a joint press release from Edmonds and Emergency Management Minister Kieran McAnulty.
“Led by retired Court of Appeal [judge] Denis Clifford, the group will provide an important check and balance to the significant powers in the [Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation] Act,” said Edmonds. “They will be tasked with reviewing draft orders and providing advice to relevant Ministers.”
Apart from Clifford, the independent review panel now includes:
- Rachael Schmidt-McCleave,
- Natalie Coates,
- Horiana Irwin-Easthope,
- Liana Poutu,
- Rachel Devine,
- Charlotte Severne,
- Veronica Jacobsen,
- Anne Carter,
- Hamish Rennie, and
- Steve Wyn-Harris
“The work of the panel will be important in the broader recovery effort and give communities both certainty and opportunity to have their voices heard,” Edmonds said.
McAnulty added that supporting timely and locally led recovery efforts remained the government’s priority.
“The Severe Weather Emergency Recovery Legislation Act created the ability to issue orders in council to assist communities affected by the recent severe weather events to respond to – and recover from – the impacts of these events. Put simply, we’ve used orders in council to relax some administrative timelines, which allows local councils to get on with leading their cyclone recovery.”
Among the first orders in council were those that would:
- Provide an extension within which affected local authorities can enter into agreements recurring every three years to June 1, 2023,
- Provide an extension for a local governance statement to be prepared by affected local authorities to July 8, 2023, and
- Allow severely affected local authorities to distribute funds to affected communities more efficiently by removing the requirement to align funding activities with the source of funding.
“The orders-in-council changes reflect how much of an impact the cyclone has had on council’s workload. We want cyclone-affected regions to be in the best position possible for their recovery… [These] changes will make it easier and smoother for councils,” McAnulty said.
