I am delighted to announce the appointment of John Price ONZM as the new Director Civil Defence Emergency Management and Deputy Chief Executive Emergency Management for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

John has been a member of the New Zealand Police since 1987 and is the current District Commander for Canterbury District.

John brings strong senior leadership and response experience to the role of Director. John has had a leading role in Police responses to significant emergencies including the 2011 Christchurch Earthquake, 2016 Kaikoura/Hurunui earthquake, the 2017 Port Hills fires and the 2019 terrorist attacks.

John was made an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of St John (OStJ) in 2020 and became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2021.

John will join NEMA on 13 March. Until this time, Roger Ball will continue to be the Acting Director Civil Defence Emergency Management.

Dave Gawn

Chief Executive NEMA

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