Auckland floods: Independent review into flood response to be led by former police commissioner

Sunday, 5 February 2023

Council contractors are finally on the ground cleaning up mess and sodden furniture strewn on a Mt Eden street.

It’s been announced former police commissioner Mike Bush will lead the review into the emergency response in the first hours of Auckland’s devastating floods.

Auckland’s mayor Wayne Brown announced there would be an independent review of the flood response six days ago.

On Sunday, Brown announced Bush, who was police commissioner between April 2014 and April 2020, would lead the review.

Bush previously led the response to the 2019 terrorist attack in Christchurch and was the strategic operations lead for the government’s Covid-19 response.

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Mike Bush, former commissioner of police, will lead an independent review of the response to Auckland’s floods.

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The review team would be looking at the response over the first 24 to 48 hours of the major weather event which began on January 27.

The purpose of the review would be to report on the performance of the immediate official emergency response to the floods and identify any actions that needed to be implemented for better preparation for the next event.

It would also consider a variety of questions including whether a state of emergency should’ve been recommended earlier and how well Auckland Emergency Management and emergency services performed leading up to and during the event.

The scope of the review included actions and decisions by Brown and his office. Brown said they would fully cooperate.

Brown has been criticised for a perceived delay in declaring a state of emergency on Friday evening as motorways flooded, the airport closed and a body was found in a culvert.

He eventually did so at 9.27pm, but it was not publicly announced until nearly an hour later.

Brown said the review should be made available to other reviewers, policymakers and the public by no later than March 6.

“My own and my office’s preparedness, decision-making and communications will be fully reviewed by the team as well as that of all other agencies involved in the first 24 to 48 hours of the severe weather event.

”I dropped the ball the night of 27 January, especially with my communication, and I am sorry,” Brown said.

”All our decisions and actions must be reviewed thoroughly, and clear and direct recommendations made so that we all do better for Aucklanders next time.

“Time is of the essence – with climate change, we do not know when how soon the next severe weather event or other civil-defence emergency might occur.”

The initial budget for the review is $100,000, to be paid out of the Mayor’s Office budget. If additional funds are required, these would be negotiated with the chief executive officer of Auckland Council.

Brown said he anticipated further reviews, including those commissioned by the central government.