MEDIA RELEASE
(for immediate release)
Thursday, 23 March 2006
New Zealanders Need To Save Themselves
Disaster survival experts critical of political point-scoring
One of New Zealand's largest disaster survival companies is upset at political point scoring at the expense of civil
defence.
Greg Blanchard, Managing Director of Community Emergency Supplies Ltd, says National MP John Carter is not helping by
raising fears in communities about lack of help in a disaster.
The National Party has said New Zealand would be 'in a shambles' if a large scale natural disaster were to hit.
'The best that we can do to prepare for disaster is become as resilient as possible,' says Blanchard, 'If we sit on our
chuffs and rely on government to charge in and rescue us ' as Mr Carter seems to suggest ' then it will be a shambles.
What we need is politicians with an understanding of the real issues and a desire to work with communities and
individuals to role model positive attitudes.'
Mr Blanchard believes people who have ready access to the media - such as politicians - should be highlighting positive
messages to inspire and motivate New Zealanders to become more involved in their own preparedness.
'Naysayers and harbingers of doom and gloom are often ignored by the public: often they come across as having a
separate, personal, agenda,' says Blanchard, 'As soon as I heard John Carter this morning on National Radio, having a go
at the Ministry of Civil Defence, I thought ?Great, there goes another few thousand people who are switching off from
the positive messages of being prepared?.'
Mr Blanchard is concerned that the squabbles at the top will distract ordinary New Zealanders from getting on with the
task of personal preparedness.
'If you examine the Act [Civil Defence and Emergency Management Act 2002] you will find that regional and local
government are the ones responsible for reduction, readiness, response, and recovery. The whole point of the Act was to
give more local control and planning to the territorial authorities - if that isn't decentralisation then we must be
reading from separate dictionaries!'
Mr Blanchard suggests if politicians are concerned about the threat of disaster (which they should be), and they want
to do something constructive (which they ought to do), then they should work together in a bipartisan fashion, set a
good example to the citizenry of New Zealand, and leave the political point scoring for the debating chamber.
Meanwhile, everyone else is getting on with the job of being prepared.
Ends