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Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002

Declaration of state of emergency - Declaration of state of local emergency

68: Declaration of state of local emergency

You could also call this:

"Declaring a local emergency: taking control to keep people safe in a specific area"

Illustration for Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002

If you are in charge of an area, you can declare a state of local emergency if you think an emergency has happened or might happen in that area. You can declare a state of local emergency for the whole area or just for one part of it. When you declare a state of local emergency, it means you are taking control of the situation to keep people safe.

If you declare a state of local emergency for a whole area, any other states of local emergency in smaller parts of that area will stop. You can also declare a state of local emergency in an area that is not affected by an emergency if you think that area's resources are needed to help another area.

You can declare a state of local emergency if you are authorised to do so under section 25. If someone says they are authorised to declare a state of local emergency, you can assume they are telling the truth unless you have proof they are not. However, you cannot declare a state of local emergency if a state of national emergency is already in place in that area.

Some parts of this law have been repealed, which means they are no longer in effect, and will be removed when the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 is repealed.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM150779.

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Government and voting > Emergency management
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Part 4Declaration of state of emergency
Declaration of state of local emergency

68Declaration of state of local emergency

  1. A person appointed for the purpose under section 25 may declare that a state of local emergency exists in the area for which the person is appointed if at any time it appears to the person that an emergency has occurred or may occur within the area.

  2. A person who is authorised to declare a state of local emergency may declare that the state of local emergency exists in respect of the whole area of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group concerned or 1 or more districts or wards within the area.

  3. If an authorised person declares a state of local emergency for—

  4. the whole area of a Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, then any other state of local emergency already in force for 1 or more districts or wards within the area ceases to have effect:
    1. a district within the area of a Civil Defence Emergency Management Group, then any other state of local emergency already in force for 1 or more wards within the district ceases to have effect.

      1. A state of local emergency may be declared in respect of an area that is not affected by an emergency if, in the opinion of any person authorised to declare a state of local emergency in respect of that area, the resources of that area are needed to assist any other area where a state of local emergency is in force.

      2. The fact that a person purporting to be authorised by section 25 declares a state of local emergency is, in the absence of proof to the contrary, conclusive evidence that the person is a person authorised under that section to do so.

      3. Nothing in this section authorises a person to declare a state of local emergency for any part of New Zealand while a state of national emergency is in force in respect of that part.

      4. Repealed

      5. Repealed

      6. Subsections (6) and (7) are repealed when the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 is repealed.

      Compare
      Notes
      • Section 68(2A): inserted, on , by section 5 of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 6).
      • Section 68(6): repealed, on , by section 68(8).
      • Section 68(7): repealed, on , by section 68(8).
      • Section 68(8): inserted, on , by section 37 of the COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 (2020 No 12).