About

The ALG is a voluntary group made up of lifelines organisations in the Auckland region. Our mission is to enhance the connectivity of lifeline utility organisations across agency and sector boundaries in order to improve infrastructure resilience.

What are Lifelines?

Lifeline utilities provide critical infrastructure services to the community. These include water, wastewater, transport, energy and telecommunications. More information about the role and duties of lifeline utilities can be found here: https://www.civildefence.govt.nz/cdem-sector/lifeline-utilities/

Our objectives

To encourage and support the work of lifeline utility organisations in identifying hazards and mitigating the effects of hazards on lifeline utilities.
To facilitate communication between all organisations involved in mitigating the effects of hazards on lifelines, to increase awareness and understanding of interdependencies between organisations, and to establish ‘pre-event’ relationships.
To coordinate lifeline utilities input into CDEM planning activities.
To represent lifeline utilities on the CDEM Coordinating Executive Group (CEG).
To develop best practice approaches to mitigation, readiness and response measures for lifelines.
To promote ongoing research and technology transfer aimed at protecting and preserving the lifelines of the Auckland Region.
To coordinate national research activities into volcano impacts on lifeline utilities through the Volcanic Impacts Study Group.
To create and maintain awareness of the importance of lifelines, and of reducing the vulnerability of lifelines, to the various communities within the Auckland Region

How society benefits

Regional Lifeline Groups undertake projects to identify and reduce vulnerabilities to regional scale emergencies. Lifelines Groups are also involved in readiness activities with outputs often including agreed priorities for disaster restoration (including priority routes), fuel, electricity and communications disruption planning and emergency communications arrangements.

How our members benefit

The ALG aims to provide the following member benefits:

Access to best practice risk and asset management concepts and procedures for utility and transportation sector lifelines.
Forums for regular contact and interaction with counterpart utility and transportation sector agencies for the exchange of information and views, leading to familiarity with the current regional status of mitigation and preparedness programmes and issues of common interest.
Enhanced ability to identify interdependency issues with other Lifelines, leading to more robust business continuity plans.
Access to workshops, exercises and other activities organised by the ALG.
The co-ordinated development of information, concepts and procedures which would be expensive and less effective for utility organisations to develop individually.
Co-ordination through liaison with Auckland CDEM for member organisations to participate in local and regional exercises to test their business continuity and organisational preparedness and interface with civil defence, the emergency services and other response agencies.
Linkage with national lifelines and emergency management initiatives and mechanism to influence national policy.

Our members and sponsors

Membership of Lifelines Groups is voluntary. Funding is typically contributed by participating organisations but usually only covers the cost of a co-ordinator/facilitator. Significant ‘in-kind’ contributions are made by participating Utilities through their involvement in Lifeline Group activities.

The following organisations are full financial members and sponsors of the Auckland Lifelines Group:

Organisation
	Auckland International Airport
	Auckland Council – Healthy Waters
	Auckland Council – Waste Solutions
	Auckland Transport Operations Centre
	Counties Energy
	Kordia
	Channel NZ
	NZTA / Waka Kotahi
	Port of Auckland
	Transpower
	Vector
	Watercare
	Wiri Oil Services Limited

The following organisations are associate members of the Auckland Lifelines Group and provide significant ‘in-kind’ contributions through their involvement in Auckland Lifeline Group activities:

Organisation
	2degrees
	Air New Zealand
	Auckland Emergency Management
	BP
	Chorus
	Contact Energy
	Firstgas
	GNS Science
	Kiwirail
	Mobil
	National Emergency Management Agency
	New Zealand Lifelines Council
	Spark
	Veolia
	One NZ (formerly Vodafone)
	Z Energy

Our relationship with Civil Defence

The ALG represents lifeline utilities in the Auckland Civil Defence Emergency Management Group. The following relationship between CDEM Groups and ALG has been endorsed by ALG and CEG.

The ALG is an independent, voluntary group of lifeline utilities.
The ALG coordinates lifelines utility input into CDEM activities and is a full member of CEG.
CEG encourages all lifeline utilities to participate in ALG as the most effective mechanism for fulfilling CDEM Act obligations to participate in regional CDEM planning.
The CDEMG separately appoints a Lifeline Utility Coordinator for coordinating utility response and recovery in the Group EOC. The ALG may help to facilitate planning and development of the ‘operational’ relationships, but the primary responsibility lies with the CDEM Group.
The ALG continues to seek funding from utilities on a voluntary basis but monitors additional resource requirements imposed by taking on additional CDEM roles and seeks CDEM Group funding where appropriate.
Prior to the establishment of CDEM budgets each year, CEG and ALG co-ordinate annual work programmes to ensure a collaborative approach on projects with joint funding and/or participation.