Page:New Zealand Parliament Hansard 2021-03-09.pdf/24

1170 successes of the Government's COVID-19 response has been that we've been able to stand up, support quickly, and get it through to employers and employees. That’s what we've been able to do with the STAP scheme. But, again, I don’t rule out further changes if those are justified in the future.

Chris Bishop: Why does Government policy currently entitle workers who are asked to self-isolate to money less than the minimum wage rate that has to be applied for by their employer?

Hon MICHAEL WOOD: I have a quote here which I’ll read to the House. It’s from Gabby Adds, who is from Employsure, New Zealand’s largest workplace relations adviser, and this was in response to the STAP scheme. She said, "Business owners have a key role in helping restart economic growth in the country. I believe small short-term payments are a step in the right direction that will help put us back on track." I think what Ms Adds is getting to in that comment is consistent with the Government’s position, which is that there is a role for everyone in making this work. Yes, there is a role for the Government in providing support to employers. That’s what we do through the Leave Support Scheme and the Short-Term Absence Payment scheme, but there is also a role for employers in making sure that people have got access to their full employment entitlements, including sick leave, and there’s a role for employees in terms of staying at home when they’re unwell. It isn’t simply all on Government to pay every dollar, to cover every cost that emerges because of COVID-19, but we are there providing significant support and we’ll continue working with employers to achieve that.

10. TĀMATI COFFEY (Labour) to the Minister for Emergency Management: What progress has been made in building the capability and capacity of the emergency management workforce?

Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister for Emergency Management): In August 2018, my predecessor, the Hon Kris Faafoi, on behalf of the Government, invested $5.2 million to establish a specialist rapid-response fly-in team to support communities in an emergency, now known as the Emergency Management Assistance Team. The multiagency team became operational on 1 September 2019. Last night, I had the pleasure of visiting the third of these 13-day training courses in the mighty, mighty Wainuiōmata. By the end of this course, there is expected to be around 50 trained members of the team from across central and local agencies.

Tāmati Coffey: How does the Emergency Management Assistance Team support responses to local emergencies?

Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: As part of an emergency response, the team will deploy specially trained emergency managers, at very short notice, to support local groups, including by setting up command centres and providing an event controller. Members of the team have significant experience in crisis response, and bring specialist skills in public information management, strategic communications, operations, planning, and intelligence, and iwi and community engagement.

Tāmati Coffey: What deployments have been undertaken by the Emergency Management Assistance Team to date?

Hon KIRITAPU ALLAN: Since the team launched in September 2019, it has been deployed to assist the West Coast in a severe weather event in December 2019, flooding in Southland in February 2020, the all-of-Government response to COVID-19 during March 2020, and a Queenstown deployment in May 2020 as part of the COVID-19 response. While we hope that the team does not need to deploy too often, the events of last Friday were a timely reminder of the hazards and risks that New Zealand faces. Can I thank the team for the dedication and skill that they bring to their work to deliver to New