New levy rates which will fund the unified national fire and emergency service – Fire and Emergency New Zealand are being announced by internal affairs minister Peter Dunne.
From 1 July 2017, Fire and Emergency New Zealand will deliver fire and emergency services across the country.
The organisation will bring together volunteer and paid, urban and rural firefighters, to provide a comprehensive national emergency service.
Following public consultation on levy rates in November 2016, Cabinet has this week approved the new tariffs. These will come into effect on 1 July 2017.
New Zealanders with house and contents insurance will see their levy increase by approximately $0.70 per week, which is an additional $36 per year.
The total levy on house and contents insurance will increase to $127.20 per year.
Car insurance will increase by approximately $0.05 per week, which is an additional $2.37 per year.
The total levy on car insurance will now be $8.45 per year.
“The new levy rates will ensure that Fire and Emergency New Zealand has the necessary funding to deliver essential fire and emergency services to both rural and urban communities,” says Dunne.
“Some commercial and public entities will face larger increases, though the new legislation will allow for measures to address affordability and fairness which are concerns raised during the consultation process,” he says.
“Local government will also no longer fund the costs of rural fire services, approximately $30 million nationally, from local rates, he says.
“The Government expects local government to return these savings to ratepayers as a consequence,” says Dunne.
“This comprehensive reform involves bringing together 40 organisations and over 14,000 volunteers and paid, urban and rural firefighters and personnel under one umbrella,” he says.
“It will deliver a flexible, modern, and efficient fire and emergency service that is fit-for-purpose not just for this year, but for the future,” says Dunne.
“This new levy rate will allow for improved support to volunteer firefighters and will help to ‘close the gap’ in rural communities where underfunding of fire and emergency services occurred for many years,” he says.
“It reflects a genuine cost of delivering high-quality services directly to our urban and rural communities,” says Dunne.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand personnel will have a legal mandate for responding to medical emergencies, natural disasters, road accidents, hazardous substance incidents, and urban search and rescue.
