Trans-Tasman Accolades for Green

Tairāwhiti Emergency Management group manager Ben Green has become known around the country as an innovator who is generous with his knowledge . . . and now that has been recognised across the Tasman too.

This month he received the Australasian Institute of Emergency Services national award for excellence. It’s an annual gong that is presented to an individual or organisation who are stand-outs in the emergency management sector.

Services chair David Parsons, who travelled from Australia to present the award, said Ben was held in the highest regard by his peers in New Zealand. “He has made not only a contribution to emergency management in his community but his country and internationally as well,” he said. “He is an innovator who is always exploring initiatives to improve the emergency management capability of Tairāwhiti.”
That included implementing MeshCore communications, water purification systems and the use of drones, to name but a few.

“Ben always willingly shares his knowledge with others, providing advice and information from lessons learned.”

Ben was rapt to receive the award but quick to share the accolades with the wider community. “It is always humbling to be recognised like this, but it is particularly special when it is from our sector peers,” he said. “As a region, a lot of what we do is around pragmatic problem solving to ensure we will be far better prepared for anything that comes our way. Our lived knowledge and experience guides us through that.”

As a result, there had been a significant uplift in regional capability and resilience across Tairāwhiti’s communities. “One of the key things is that what has been achieved is done through grant funding and not funded by ratepayers.”

While in Gisborne, David Parsons spent several house at the Emergency Coordination Centre in Lytton West where he received a detailed overview of the regional operational and embedded resilience.