This deep dive examines one of the most critical, yet least understood weaknesses in New Zealand’s disaster preparedness: the absence of a true national common operating picture.
Sparked by research conducted for an October panel on Taiwan’s disaster management system, this episode explores the growing gap between nations that have operationalised resilience and those still stuck in consultation, procurement, and fragmented execution.
Using Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction as a reference point, the episode walks through how integrated sensors, predictive modelling, shared dashboards, and public-facing tools fundamentally change emergency outcomes. It then contrasts that systemised approach with New Zealand’s current reality, where agencies operate in silos, public alerting remains one-way and brittle, and trust is slowly eroding.
This is not a critique for the sake of criticism. It is a systems-level examination of risk accumulation, delayed implementation, and the uncomfortable truth that disasters do not wait for reviews to be finished.
In this episode, I cover:
Why Taiwan’s disaster response did not improve by accident
A single catastrophic failure in 1999 triggered a 25-year commitment to system design, continuous improvement, and national integration.What a real common operating picture actually looks like
Not a dashboard or a report, but a live, shared, predictive system spanning sensors, science, responders, and the public.How early warning and pre-computed modelling change outcomes
Seconds and minutes matter, and systems that already “know” what will be impacted outperform those trying to calculate under pressure.Why New Zealand still does not have a national COP
Despite decades of discussion, we remain fragmented across regions, agencies, and platforms.The procurement trap that stalls innovation
Why proven solutions struggle to scale across government, even when risk is well understood.How public trust is quietly being lost
From failed siren tests to ambiguous alerts, reliability matters more than reassurance.Why resilience now affects investment and economic stability
Disaster response capability is no longer just a civil defence issue, it is a national credibility signal.What success could realistically look like
A future-state scenario showing how New Zealand could respond if systems were integrated and rehearsed properly.The three pillars that must work together
Communication, technology, and community. Neglect any one and the system fails.
Important timestamps:
00:00 – Why this topic matters now
The panel discussion that triggered deeper research and uncomfortable conclusions.02:25 – Taiwan as New Zealand’s most relevant comparison
Shared geography, shared hazards, radically different outcomes.05:02 – The 1999 earthquake that changed everything
How failure drove Taiwan to redesign its entire disaster system.06:18 – Inside Taiwan’s national disaster platform
Sensors, science, dashboards, and public access working as one system.09:18 – Early warning in action
How seconds of notice and pre-computed modelling save lives.11:01 – Drills, culture, and continuous improvement
Why technology only works when people are trained to use it.12:44 – New Zealand’s risk profile
Alpine Fault, Hikurangi subduction zone, and known inevitabilities.14:13 – The common operating picture paradox
Why we still do not have one, despite decades of intent.15:49 – Fragmentation during Cyclone Gabrielle
What happens when agencies cannot see the same information.17:16 – Public alerting and trust failures
Why one-way systems and single points of failure are dangerous.18:09 – Christchurch siren failure
A small incident revealing a much larger systemic issue.19:18 – The Kamchatka earthquake comparison
How different countries responded to the same event, in real time.22:01 – COPNZ and the implementation gap
Why building the system is not the hard part.24:18 – Procurement as a national risk amplifier
When process outpaces urgency.25:21 – Resilience and foreign investment
Why disaster response capability influences economic decisions.31:04 – What New Zealand already has
The data, sensors, and expertise are not the problem.32:10 – What must change now
Concrete actions required to move from planning to execution.37:14 – A future-state response scenario
What coordinated success could realistically look like.41:13 – Final question
How many more disasters will it take before we build what we already know we need?
