Fire and Emergency fails to improve culture after review into bullying, harrasment

The review was released today. Photo / Bevan Conley .

An independent review of Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) found it has fallen short in improving its workplace culture.

The review, led by Belinda Clark QSO, was commissioned following a damning 2019 review by Judge Coral Shaw which found FENZ had a culture of bullying and harassment as well as unacceptable levels of homophobia, sexism and racism.

It found while FENZ had done some work towards implementing the recommendations of the Shaw report there was still a long way to go, and poor behaviour remains. The review found these behaviours needed urgent addressing, but the Behaviour and Conduct office set up to respond to complaints and bullying accusations, fell short of its goals.

In response to the new report, Minster of Internal Affairs Jan Tinetti announced the appointment of two new FENZ Board members - Hon Ruth Dyson, QSO as Deputy Chair, and Clark. They will be in place for an initial period of 12 months.

“I am confident that these changes to the FENZ Board will ensure an improved organisation,” Tinetti said.

Deputy Public Service Commissioner Helene Quilter, QSO, said the review shows there is a lot of work to do to ensure FENZ is “safe and inclusive”.

FENZ board chairwoman Rebecca Keoghan said the review today showed FENZ had “good foundations”, but acknowledged the organisation has fallen short.

“Our intentions were good but we have fallen short in terms of implementation and where we need to be. It’s clear that much more needs to be done to effect the change and address the poor attitudes and behaviours within this organisation.”

The 2019 report made 33 recommendations for FENZ to improve its culture - all of which were taken on board by the organisation. However, the Clark report has found the implementation processes did not capitalise on these attempts and therefore, did not achieve the “desired level of change”.

Clark’s review made 20 recommendations for FENZ to improve its culture including establishing a “zero-tolerance” policy for bullying and harassment which included investigating all formal complaints of bullying, and the dismissal of people who are found to have committed bullying or harassment.

She also recommended allegations of criminal offending be referred to the police, and that a separate body should be established outside FENZ to handle conduct complaints, with assistance from the Department of Internal Affairs.

Clark recommended that the FENZ executive leadership team should design and then implement a plan to bring about a culture change, and at the bare minimum, it should identify key characteristics of the desired culture and have a way to improve policy and process to make this happen.

There should also be a way to measure the success of the initiative.

The review also recommended that FENZ’s workplace should reflect the diversity of the general population and that the role of Chief Fire Officer should be “modernised” with a set term of five years and the right to renewal.

Keoghan said the board will take all measures necessary to protect FENZ workers.

“There is no place for bullying and harassment at FENZ... These recommendations offer an opportunity for us to reset and provide a pathway to improve our people’s experience with FENZ.”

She said the recommendations will be carefully considered and an action plan will be developed for each to try and implement them and bring about the needed culture change.

“While no single recommendation will bring about the change required, taken together they will make a difference.”