The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Ministry for the Environment have developed a Long-term Insights Briefing on a nationally important topic: building New Zealand's long-term resilience to hazards, such as severe weather, pandemics, volcanic activity, and earthquakes.
The briefing discusses New Zealand's evolving hazard landscape, the tradeoffs and tough decisions New Zealand will need to make, and opportunities for resilience-building.
The timeliness of national resilience discussions in New Zealand
Discussions surrounding national resilience-building are particularly timely. The country faces growing challenges from various hazards, and New Zealanders have been deeply affected by a range of these events.
Enhancing our national resilience will help us mitigate the consequences of disasters, and capture an array of economic, social, and environmental benefits. It will give our people and economy the opportunity to thrive – not just when conditions are easy, but also when they are hard.
We all play a part in helping shape national resilience
National resilience is a shared responsibility and there are many ways we can shape our future together, through technology, investment strategies, and green design.
Aotearoa is making important strides, with recent government initiatives recognising resilience as central to economic security and wellbeing. From the National Risk and Resilience Framework to climate adaptation plans, emergency management reforms and updates to the RMA, these efforts are helping embed long-term thinking and coordinated action across sectors.
Local government, iwi and communities are also playing a vital role, bringing in local knowledge, mātauranga Māori and practical on-the-ground solutions. To truly embed resilience, we need to commit to strategies that can be sustained over decades.
Why this is important
Recent severe weather events show why building resilience can’t wait. Acting now through a proactive, all-of-society approach will help us protect what matters most. National resilience is a long game, requiring sustained investment, strategic thinking, collaboration and the courage to make tough decisions today for a safer tomorrow.
Consider the briefing and how it can inform your business, organisation, community and household’s resilience planning.
The full briefing has been tabled in the house and is available on the Building Resilience to Hazards Long-term Insights Briefing DPMC website page.