The Annual Report sets out the results the New Zealand Fire Service Commission (Commission) has achieved against its annual plan (Statement of Intent). The annual report describes some of the key events that have occurred during each year, sets out the key results and the financial performance of the Commission against its intended performance.

The Commission's annual report is formally tabled in Parliament each year and is analysed by select committees to judge whether the Commission has delivered value to New Zealand communities.

Featured below is the table of contents and a short overview from the report. If you would like to read the report click on the download pdf link in the blue box to your right.

Table of Contents

New Zealand Fire Service Commission
Annual Report
For the Year Ended 30 June 2000
Table Of Contents
Chairperson’s Transmittal Letter 2
Commission Overview 5
Chief Executive Overview 8
Supporting the Government’s Goals 11
Fire Outcomes — Summary 13
Fire Outcomes — Education and Advice 14
Fire Outcomes — Preparing for and Suppressing Fires 19
Statement of Responsibility 24
Report of the Audit Office 25
Statement of Accounting Policies 27
Statement Specifying Financial Performance 32
Statement of Financial Performance 34
Statement of Movements in Equity 34
Statement of Financial Position 35
Statement of Cashflows 36
Statement of Commitments 37
Statement of Contingent Liabilities 37
Notes to the Financial Statements 38
Statement of Objectives and Service Performance 50
Map Of Fire Regions 77

Commission Overview

Commission Membership

The New Zealand Fire Service Commission has four members.Three are appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Minister of Internal Affairs. The fourth is the Secretary for Internal Affairs.

During the year under review the composition of the Commission remained
unchanged and comprised:

Dame Margaret Bazley, DNZM, Chairperson
Mr Brian Stanley, Deputy Chairperson
Mr Neville Young, Member
Dr Roger Blakeley, Secretary for Internal Affairs

The Statutory Functions of the Commission

In addition to its role as the Crown’s principal manager of fire risk in New Zealand,
the Commission has four main statutory functions:

• Overall co-ordination of fire prevention and fire safety as required by sections 20 and 21 of the Fire Service Act and section 12 (2) of the Building Act 1991.
• Governance of the New Zealand Fire Service as required by section 14 of the Fire Service Act 1975.
• Exercise of the role of the National Rural Fire Authority as required by section 14A of the Fire Service Act 1975 and section 18(2) of the Forest and Rural Fires Act 1977.
• Collection and audit of the proceeds of the Fire Service levy as required by section 47B and sections 48 to 53A of the Fire Service Act 1975.
  

Overall Co-ordination of Fire Prevention and Fire Safety

The Commission discharged this responsibility by a variety of means:

• It considered and approved the National Fire Safety Promotion Plan prepared by the Fire Safety Functional Group of the New Zealand Fire Service.This plan identified eight at-risk groups in the population and provided fire safety strategies targeted to each.
• The Commission met twice with the Building Industry Authority and made two substantive submissions to the Authority’s comprehensive review of the fire safety provisions of the Building Code and the Approved Documents.
• It funded a lectureship in Fire Engineering at the University of Canterbury and awarded 11 research contracts across a mix of disciplines and providers.
  

The research results were published and a fire safety seminar held to present the results of the research to key stakeholders.

Governance of the New Zealand Fire Service

The Commission discharges its principal governance responsibilities through:

• The appointment of a Chief Executive with qualifications, competencies and experience appropriate to the role. Alison Timms served in an acting capacity throughout the year under review. Her appointment in an acting capacity was extended for up to one year with effect from May 2000.
• The Chief Executive’s Performance Agreement, which sets out the Commission’s expectations and priorities. A Performance Agreement was in place throughout the year.At the end of the year, Commission members completed a performance assessment of the Chief Executive (Acting) and entered into a new Agreement for the year 2000/01.
• The annual Purchase Agreement between the Commission and Chief Executive (acting), which must be consistent with the Estimates of Expenditure approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs in consultation with the Minister of Finance. The Estimates of Expenditure were submitted to the Minister in April 1999 and approved on 14 October 1999. An interim Purchase Agreement between the Commission and the Chief Executive (Acting) was in place on 1 July 1999 with final completion of the Purchase Agreement following the Estimates approval.
• The Instrument of Delegation which authorises the Chief Executive to exercise certain of the Commission’s statutory powers subject to relevant policy direction. The Instrument of Delegation dated 18 June 1998 remained in force during the year.
• The Audit Committee of the Commission which reports to the Commission on matters of risk management, prudential policy and compliance. The Audit Committee comprising Brian Stanley (Chair), Dame Margaret Bazley, Neville Young and Malcolm McCaw (co-opted) met on four occasions.The committee oversaw the Fire Service’s Y2K preparedness campaign and the continuing upgrade of the financial control environment.
  

The National Rural Fire Authority

The delivery of rural fire prevention, suppression and extinction services is the responsibility of rural fire authorities — mostly territorial authorities but also the Department of Conservation, the New Zealand Defence Force, private forest plantation owners and others.The Commission is responsible through the Fire Service Chief Executive and the National Rural Fire Officer for rural fire policy at a national level, standards and codes of practice, co-ordination between rural fire authorities and reimbursement of costs incurred in fighting rural fire. Highlights of the period under review include:

• A very substantial reduction in land area lost to wildfire in 1999/00 compared to 1998/99.
• Agreement in principle for enlarged Rural Fire Districts in the Thames-Coromandel and Central North Island areas.
• Continued strong support and strategic input from the National Rural Fire Advisory Committee.
• Review of the achievements of the National Rural Fire Authority’s first five years’ strategic plan and commencement of the second five years’ planning process.
• Participation in a review of rural fire arrangements by Local Government New Zealand which largely endorsed the current rural structure of responsibilities for rural fire management but noted issues of equity and funding for further review.
• Continued daily monitoring of the fire danger in forest and rural areas.
• Substantial improvement in the number of rural fire authorities passing their code of practice audits and re-audits during the year.
  

Levy Collection and Audit

The Fire Service levy is a tied tax levied on contracts of fire insurance as provided for in section 48 of the Fire Service Act 1975.The proceeds of the levy are applied to:

• The Rural Fire Fighting Fund.
• The actual net expenditure of the New Zealand Fire Service Commission.
  

The levy is reviewed annually by the Minister of Internal Affairs who is responsible for setting the rate of levy.The rate was restored to 6.2 cents from 4.5 cents per $100 of insured value with effect from 1 February 2000.

The Commission continued a comprehensive audit programme of major insurers and brokers.The final audit report for the year under review disclosed an overall improvement in the processes brokers use to establish indemnity value for levy calculation purposes.The audit report noted, however, that the improvement was not uniform across all brokers audited.

The audit also highlighted an increasing trend for international companies to use global insurance policies and place fire insurance cover overseas. Companies placing their fire insurance offshore are still obliged to pay the Fire Service levy in New Zealand. However, verifying that they have paid the correct amount (or that they have paid at all) is difficult. Also highlighted was the increased use of “first loss - sum insured” and split contract structures as a risk mitigation strategy.These measures have effectively eroded the Commission’s funding base and its debt position has deteriorated as a result.The Commission has expressed its extreme concern to the Minister at these trends and the need for urgent legislation to remedy the situation.

As a result of the previous year’s audit showing confusion regarding the calculation of levies on contract works policies, the Commission issued policy guidelines on “Property in Course of Construction or Alteration” in October 1999.