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Auckland, February 3, 2023
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has extended the state of emergency by another week.
He said that the decision was taken on the advice of civil defence authorities and other stakeholders this morning.
However, the emergency could be lifted earlier than February 10, 2023, he said.
Thanking Aucklanders for their cooperation, he described the community response as ‘magnificent.’
“One sign of the fantastic cooperation is that the emergency powers, which I approved on Friday night (January 27, 2023) immediately when advised, have barely needed to be used.”
Mr Brown acknowledged that he made mistakes.
“I dropped the ball on Friday. I was too slow to be seen. The communications were not fast enough, including mine. I am sorry. The priority now, ahead of the Waitangi long weekend, is to ensure that Aucklanders are safe, well-informed and well-supported,” he said.
The Mayor was advised at 9 am today by Civil Defence Emergency Management (CDEM), which includes Auckland Emergency Management (AEM) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), to extend the state of local emergency.
He considered the advice and signed the declaration at 11.30 am, ahead of the existing declaration expiring this evening.
Having the declaration in place allows the Controller, CDEM and other relevant authorities to issue legally binding instructions to agencies and the public if that is required.
“I hope it continues to be mostly unnecessary for these powers to be used, and urge Aucklanders to continue assisting the emergency services by complying with their instructions voluntarily. The need for the emergency powers will be continuously reviewed,” Mr Brown said.
Coming up: An interview with Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson.
