Introducing EQC’s future name: Toka Tū Ake – Natural Hazards Commission
As part of modernising the Earthquake Commission (EQC) Act, the Minister responsible for EQC introduced the new Natural Hazards Insurance Bill to Parliament on 16 March to future-proof the scheme and adopt a number of recommendations from the Public Inquiry into EQC.
The Bill acknowledges EQC’s role extends beyond earthquakes and to better reflect EQC’s unique insurance scheme, the range of natural hazards it covers and EQC’s expertise around those hazards, the Minister also announced EQC will transition to a new name: Toka Tū Ake - Natural Hazards Commission.
EQC intends to transition towards Toka Tū Ake - Natural Hazards Commission over time and will likely begin the process in mid-2022.
For now, the organisation will continue to be known as EQC. Details of the transition are yet to be confirmed, but it will be delivered appropriately and responsibly while ensuring New Zealanders don’t lose sight of EQC in the process.
The meaning of Toka Tū Ake
EQC welcomes Toka Tū Ake – Natural Hazards Commission as its new name. It embodies who the organisation is, its role in Aotearoa New Zealand and represents its commitment to maturing cultural capability. It also reflects EQC’s role as a partner to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, as well as EQC’s shared responsibility with tangata whenua for kaitiakitanga (guardianship and protection) of people and place impacted by natural hazards.
Toka Tū Ake expresses an age-old truth that the best way to be prepared for adversity is for communities to come together to share their knowledge and resources as support for one another. For EQC, it means the foundation from which we stand strong, together:
| Toka | Tū | Ake |
| (noun) rock, large stone, boulder | (verb) to stand, take place, set in place, establish, convene | (particle) to raise upwards |
