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Matt Wheble is an experienced emergency management and search and rescue practitioner with more than 20 years’ experience across frontline response, incident coordination, senior advisory, and governance roles in high‑risk, time‑critical settings. An active Land Search and Rescue volunteer, he operates both in the field and within Incident Management Team functions. He has served in operational and leadership roles with New Zealand Police, Search and Rescue, Disaster Victim Identification and Fire and Emergency New Zealand, where he currently works as a Senior Advisor in Incident and Emergency Management.
Risk is ever‑present; the challenge lies in how effectively it is identified, assessed, managed, and communicated as conditions evolve. This presentation examines risk management in time‑critical, high‑uncertainty environments, highlighting the interaction between strategic, operational, and responder safety risks. Drawing on personal experience from significant events, including the Whakaari tragedy, it explores decision‑making under pressure, risk tolerance, and the balance between operational necessity and safety. The presentation also considers human and organisational factors such as leadership, fatigue, safety culture, and multi‑agency coordination, and how these influence risk outcomes.