Abstract
New Zealand’s exposure to seismic hazards is well established, with a regulatory and legislative architecture to mitigate earthquake risks, particularly in high seismic risk areas such as Wellington. However, comparatively less attention has been given to Low Seismic Risk Areas (LSRAs), including cities like Dunedin and Oamaru. Despite their lower seismic hazard profile, these areas remain highly vulnerable due to their concentration of unreinforced masonry buildings, heritage structures, and comparatively limited investment in risk mitigation. This thesis examines the perception and implementation of earthquake-related legislation in these LSRA contexts.
The study addresses the gap between policy intent and practical implementation in areas that have traditionally received less focus in earthquake risk reduction efforts. It explores how institutional capacity, stakeholder engagement, resource availability, and heritage constraints influence the ability of LSRA communities to comply with or benefit from national seismic resilience frameworks. Central to this inquiry are the Building Act 2004, the Earthquake-Prone Buildings Amendment Act 2016, the Natural Hazards Insurance Act 2023, and associated acts and strategies including the Resource Management Act 1991 and Civil Defence Emergency Management Act 2002.
Methodologically, the research employs a qualitative interpretivist approach, drawing on two primary sources of data: (1) legislative and policy document analysis, and (2) semi-structured interviews with a range of stakeholders including council officials, emergency managers, heritage professionals, and private building owners. Thematic coding was conducted using NVivo software, enabling an analysis of alignment and divergence between formal legislative requirements and on-the-ground implementation realities.
The analysis is theoretically framed through place-based ‘Disaster Resilience of Place’ (DROP) model and Prospect Theory. The DROP framework provides a multidimensional lens to assess institutional and community capacities for disaster resilience, including risk identification, mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Prospect Theory helps explain the cognitive and behavioural biases influencing stakeholder decision-making under uncertainty. This dual-theoretical lens allows for a nuanced interpretation of seismic risk reduction which is not prioritised in LSRAs, despite demonstrable vulnerability.
Key findings reveal that while New Zealand’s national policy framework is robust in scope, its translation into effective practice in LSRAs is inconsistent. Strengths include increased national awareness, structured timelines for compliance, and seismic zoning. However, weaknesses are evident in the areas of enforcement, funding availability for retrofitting heritage buildings, inter-agency coordination, and stakeholder engagement. A pervasive sense of complacency, underpinned by misinterpretation of probabilistic hazard models and limited local seismic activity, contributes to delays in seismic strengthening. Furthermore, heritage regulations often complicate or conflict with seismic upgrade requirements, creating policy tensions that are not easily resolved under current legislative tools.
The study concludes that effective earthquake risk reduction in LSRAs demands more than legal mandates; it requires locally adaptive strategies that integrate stakeholder perceptions, economic realities, and heritage values. Recommendations include developing scenario-based hazard communication to shift risk perception, introducing tailored financial incentives for heritage retrofitting, enhancing regional coordination mechanisms, and embedding resilience more explicitly into local planning frameworks.
By focusing on low seismic risk yet high-vulnerability contexts, this thesis contributes new insights into the broader disaster risk reduction literature and offers actionable guidance for policymakers and practitioners. It argues that improving resilience in peripheral and heritage-rich settings is essential to achieving truly inclusive seismic preparedness across New Zealand.