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NZFS Commission Statement of Intent 2008/2011 
NZFS Commission Statement of Intent 2008/2011 

Table of contents

Title
Page
Overview 4
Linkages 6
The Operating Environment 7
Mandate and responsibilities 7
The legislative context 8
The fire environment 8
Commission's emergency management framework 9
Trends 11
What the Commission Does 15
Commission services 15
Resources 20
Impacts, Outcomes and Objectives 21
Strategic objectives 21
Community fire-related impacts and outcomes 22
Non-fire-related impacts and outcomes 23
The Commission’s Operating Intentions 24
How the Commission intends to deliver on its results 24
Evaluations 26
Risks 26
Managing Organisational Health 28
People and partnerships 28
A good employer 30
Stakeholder consultation 30
Asset management 30
Greenhouse gas emissions 31
Financial and non-Financial Measures 32
Main non-financial measures 32
Main financial measures 33
Consultation and Reporting to the Minister of Internal Affairs 34
Consultation with the Minister 34
Reporting to the Minister 34
Processes in Relation to Acquisitions 34
Other Matters 34
Statement of Responsibility 35
Prospective Forecast Financial Statements and Assumptions 36
Use of information contained in these financial statements 36
Significant financial assumptions 36
Updating financial statements 36
Prospective financial statements 37
Statement of accounting policies 41
Statement of Forecast Service Performance for 2008/2009 54
Cost of the outputs 55
Output classes 56

Overview

The New Zealand Fire Service Commission (Commission) is the Crown's principal fire risk management and service delivery agency. It provides a comprehensive range of risk reduction, fire safety public education, emergency response and rural fire authority co-ordination services to protect New Zealand's 4.2 million residents and visitors, $240 billion stock of buildings and 27 million hectares of forest and grasslands from fire. This Statement of Intent outlines the Commission's plans, programmes and priorities for the next three years. It describes the:

  • Environment within which the Commission operates
  • What the Commission does
  • Commission's operating intentions for the next three years
  • Impacts, outcomes and objectives of the Commission
  • Commission's approach to managing organisational health
  • The main measures used to monitor and assess performance.

The Commission contributes to two of the Government's priorities, Families Young and Old and Economic Transformation. It does this by reducing the incidence and consequences of fire.

A key measure of the Commission's impact on fire consequences is avoidable residential fire fatalities. In 2006/07 New Zealand experienced an avoidable residential fire fatality rate of just 0.36 fatalities per 100,000 population, down from 0.97 fatalities per 100,000 population ten years ago. The Commission is particularly proud of this world class performance. The national goal for 2008/2009 onwards is to maintain the rate to less than 0.5.

The Commission delivers a range of services (outputs) covering fire safety education and technical advice, emergency preparedness and response, and rural fire leadership and co-ordination. This document describes the services the Commission will deliver in 2008/2009 and the measures against which those services will be assessed.

The Commission will undertake numerous policy and programme initiatives in the next three years. By way of example they include:

  • Finalise and implement a new measure of brigade readiness designed to provide high-level assurance of capability and capacity to meet community expectations.
  • Finalise a resilience standard for fire stations and establish and implement the capital works programme to meet the resilience standard.
  • Consult with urban stakeholders on the National Resource Allocation model, including the application of the model to more remote communities
  • Develop and implement the action plans for achieving the newly established greenhouse gas emissions targets.
  • Update and implement the planned five-year evaluation programme that assesses the impact key programmes have on national goals.

The Commission is committed to ensuring the capability and health of New Zealand's fire services is maintained and enhanced over time. This document sets out how it intends to do in the coming three years. It also sets out the Commission's commitment to its employees, to sound public sector employment practices and to the principles of equality of opportunity and diversity.

Included in this document are the forecast costs of providing the services for 2008/2009. These costs and the forecasts for each of the subsequent two years are presented in the statement of prospective financial performance, the statement of prospective financial position and the statement of prospective cash flows.

The Crown Entities Act requires boards to operate as a going concern on a sustainable basis and the Commission is committed to achieving this.

Signed on behalf of the New Zealand Fire Service Commission

Dame Margaret Bazley, DNZM, Hon DLit
Chairperson
30 June 2008

Angela Foulkes, ONZM
Member
30 June 2008

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