Mayor Jim Boult said in a media statement today a steering group would soon be appointed to decide terms of reference and membership of the taskforces.
One would focus on community recovery and the other on economic recovery.
The future of the district depended on actions taken in the coming months, Mr Boult said.
Because of its near-total reliance on tourism, it would be more affected by the global pandemic than any other area in New Zealand, and faced the "toughest economic situation" in its history.
"Make no mistake, the upcoming period is akin to a war, and a war we must win.
"The future of our district depends on the actions that we will take in the coming months.''
It was necessary to start planning how the district navigated out of the lockdown to be in the "best possible position" once it was lifted.
"The key here is that we need to enable and empower conversations which give locals, community groups, businesses and investors some pathways for how we will collectively rebuild this district and create a truly prosperous community.
"Experience in times of crisis means that we don't actually know what the answers are so there is no blueprint; the work of the taskforces will be to explore and provide innovative ideas for the future for the whole community.''
