AREC - Amateur Radio Emergency Communications

15/06/2026

Did you know over 53% of Kiwi's volunteer? 👀
We have over 500 vollies, and they have been BUSY putting in the mahi over the last year! 62 Search and Rescue Operations, over 200 training events, and countless hours keeping communications running behind the scenes 🫶

A big THANK YOU to our volunteers, the ones we work alongside and all the other selfless folk around the motu 🤝💛

07/06/2026

Tairāwhiti Civil Defence + AREC 🤝 Winlink

Read about the new install and how that will support the local community in emergencies 👉

A joint venture between AREC and Tairāwhiti Emergency Management has added another solid layer of communication back-up should other systems fail . . . and it could be a gamechanger for Tairāwhiti.
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications and TEMO have installed Winlink, a radio email system that uses radio frequencies to send and receive email messages without the internet. It is widely used by emergency management and amateur radio emergency groups during disaster responses.
The new TEMO Winlink has HF, VHF and UHF frequency capabilities. The HF server will keep searching for another HF server nationally or worldwide until it locates one with an active internet connection and use that connection to send emails. If there is no internet connection to be found, it can send emails amongst each of the national or international servers.
Pictured are TEMO group manager Ben Green (left) and AREC northern regional manager Steve Main in front of the new gear.
👇 for the full story . . .
https://www.tairawhitiem.govt.nz/

AREC - Amateur Radio Emergency Communications

02/06/2026

📣It's time for 📣June is a month-long celebration to recognise volunteers for the mahi they do!

This year we have asked our volunteers who they would like to see recognised 👀 so let's get the ball rolling - starting with a big thank you to Geoff and Ryan for going all in! 💛

Volunteering New Zealand

10/05/2026

Interested to know what our Volunteers do when they are not on a call-out for SAR or CDEM?... We train! 🏃🏃‍♀️

Because we are responsible for ensuring communications are set up and working well during a rescue or emergency event, it's a non-negotiable that we exercise our skills, especially in areas that are less than ideal (e.g. those rugged & rough NZ spots that have variable radio coverage!) 🌲🏔️

Our Southland AREC Group headed out to Stewart Island over the weekend to do just that. Take a look 👇
Almost looks like an episode of Survivor, don't you think? 🪏

05/05/2026

Members of our Tauranga Group showed incredible volunteer spirit during Cyclone Vaianu, travelling to Gisborne in the thick of it all, to support our friends at Tairāwhiti Civil Defence 💛Our vollies - Jo, Ian & Connor 💛 Thanks SunLive the Bay's news first for the spotlight ⭐️

Tauranga radio volunteers answer cyclone call

14/04/2026

Want to see a photo of a bunch of legends? Here you go 😀⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Massive thank you to Auckland Emergency Management for having us as part of the fold at their ECC during the Cyclone 🤝 until next time 💛

13/04/2026

Feeling very proud of our people, and the ones we do the Mahi with 💛Mother nature keeps sending it their way, and Tairāwhiti Civil Defence keeps knocking it down!💪 Pretty sad seeing communities getting hit over and over, but boy they are some resilient people 💛

Tauranga AREC (Amateur Radio Emergency Communications) members say they are heading home with plenty of learnings after spending the weekend supporting Tairāwhiti Emergency Management and the local AREC club through ex-tropical Cyclone Vaianu.
Connor Bell (left), Joanne Watson (second from right) and Ian Hendry, pictured with Ben Green and Marcus Tibble, say it has been a blast. The club answered a national call to support the Tairawhiti AREC group, and they’re hopeful it won’t be their last.
AREC are highly trained in communications provide specialist communication skills. Tairawhiti is the only CDEM Group has AREC embedded to manage radio communications and networks.
During Vaianu, the AREC members manned the emergency centre radios that connect with remote community civil defence teams and with new equipment TEMO is investing in, this will also include radio communications with other regions in NZ as well international nodes.
Thank you!

13/04/2026

🌧️ Cyclone Vaianu - What a weekend🌧️

We were officially stood down from Sunday evening in the areas we were supporting.

Huge thanks to our volunteers, especially those monitoring through the night, and those who travelled to the affected areas to help 💛

Using our communications skills to support the community is literally what we are here for, and it's a privilege to work alongside so many amazing organisations doing so 🤝

Wishing everyone in the affected areas all the very best as your communities recover 💛

11/04/2026

🌧️TROPICAL CYCLONE VAIANU🌧️ Update Sunday 12 April. We now have volunteers in place supporting Civil Defence in the areas where we have been activated, and are monitoring ZK and HF.
Stay safe everyone 💛

11/04/2026

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