A cancelled panel at a Christchurch rural and forest firefighting conference has brought to light wider debate over wildfire strategy, funding, and capability in New Zealand.
The discussion – planned for last month’s event – was set to focus on the cost and role of aerial firefighting, including the growth in Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s helicopter suppression bill, now above $7 million annually.
RNZ reported that Alan Thompson, a long-time rural firefighting specialist, said the panel aimed to examine how suppression resources are deployed and funded.
He claimed the session was cancelled after Fire and Emergency New Zealand signalled it did not want it to proceed.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand rejected this, saying the decision was made by the conference organisers.
Peter Dunne – chair of Tangata Matatau, which hosted the event – said he made the call to remove the panel to avoid holding a public debate while private discussions with Fire and Emergency New Zealand were under way on the balance between aerial and ground firefighting.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand cited concerns about commercial sensitivities relating to its recently signed aerial firefighting contracts.
The conference disagreement comes as a nationwide review of wildfire capability is set to begin, with results expected by the end of the year.
The review will assess skills, equipment, and readiness, with the goal of identifying any resource gaps.
Sean McBride, who chairs the Forest Owners Association and Farm Forestry Association’s fire committee, said wildfires are now burning roughly twice the forest area compared to before Fire and Emergency New Zealand was formed.
Forest owners spend about $20 million annually on preparedness, half of which covers insurance for about one-third of the national plantation area, with the rest invested in machinery, training, and other assets.
From mid-2026, a revised levy structure will increase the overall rate by slightly more than 5% and remove some exemptions, adding tens of thousands of dollars in annual costs for some owners.
McBride said these changes, combined with rising suppression costs, may lead some companies to reduce private firefighting investment.
This discussion comes as global loss data shows wildfire risk is rising in both frequency and severity.
Allianz Commercial reported that insured wildfire losses increased from US$8.7 billion (NZ$14.4 billion) in the 2000s to US$56.3 billion in the 2010s.
The 2025 California fires alone are estimated to have caused between US$28 billion and US$40 billion in insured losses.
Key drivers include prolonged dry conditions, higher temperatures, stronger winds, and urban development encroaching into the wildland-urban interface (WUI).
Recent large-scale fires in areas once considered low risk, such as northern Canada and Scandinavia, have reinforced the global reach of the hazard.
Allianz said insurers and businesses need to update risk modelling, assess WUI exposure, and invest in proactive prevention and mitigation strategies.
