A former cabinet minister, Roger Sowry, is to chair a group that will review the structure of Civil Defence.
Firefighters and Civil Defence staff are briefed after fires broke out in Christchurch on the Port Hills in February. Photo: Supplied / Christchurch City Council
The group will include representatives of local government, the police, the Fire Service, the Defence Force and the Ministry of Civil Defence.
Civil Defence Minister, Gerry Brownlee, said that work had been undertaken locally and supported nationally since 1959 and that system needed to be scrutinised.
Shortcomings highlighted by recent emergencies, such as the Kaikōura earthquake and the Port Hills fire, had prompted the review.
The group had been asked to report back by August.
