A review by a retired High Court judge has found six deaths caused by a landslide at a Mt Maunganui campsite could have been prevented.
Paul Davison KC’s damning report, released at 2pm today, said: “This tragedy was, in the end, preventable.”
Six people were killed when a large chunk of the maunga gave way after a night of heavy rain on January 22 this year, collapsing onto the neighbouring Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park.
The independent review was commissioned by Tauranga City Council in February to look at the decision-making process and the council systems in place around the time of the tragedy.
It's separate to other inquiries underway by the Government and by WorkSafe.
Davison’s report said: “The central conclusion of this review is sobering in its simplicity. This was not a hazard that was unknown, hidden, or beyond the reach of foresight.”
It said there were warnings on the day of the tragedy “early and from several directions” but the outcome was not the result of one person but a system that enabled a risk to life to go unmanaged.
“In my view, the criticism justly and appropriately lies with the organisation that left the campground manager and his staff so ill-equipped and unprepared to make the decisions that could have avoided this tragedy.”
He said an emergency plan, known as a “trigger action response plan” should have been put in place. The heavy rain overnight, the worst in 20 years, would have triggered action as a result, Davison found.
He did not find the removal of trees in 2019 to have been responsible for the landslide.
Tauranga mayor Mahe Drysdale said at a media conference announcing the findings: "Today, we acknowledge the lives lost at the holiday park. While this tragedy has had a profound and lasting impact on our community, it is those who lost their lives, and the families and friends who continue to live with that loss every day who remain at the centre of our thoughts.
"To each of you, I offer our deepest condolences. Thank you for your patience, for your courage, and the grace you have shown in the face of unimaginable loss."
Deluge
The Bay of Plenty region received more than two months of rain in less than 12 hours, triggering 42 landslides on Mauao, including the one into the campsite.
The council owns and operates Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, while it co-manages the maunga with Mauao Trust.
The report added: “For more than two decades, one competent consultant after another identified the landslide hazard to the campground, located it on the very slope that failed, and explained – sometimes in stark terms – what the consequences of a landslide occurring could be.”
Tauranga City Council had given Davison a four-page long terms of reference, including what was known by the council about the area of land on Mauao affected by the landslide and how it assessed and managed any risks prior to the state of emergency.
Also reviewed was the information received and action taken during and after the tragedy.
What happened at Mt Maunganui on January 22
At about 9.30am a landslide crashed into the Beachside Holiday Park following heavy rain from a storm that caused flooding across the North Island.
Tauranga experienced extreme rainfall over two days, with a combined total of 295mm on January 21 and 22.
The landslide hit a shower block killing six people. It also slid into campervans, tents and other vehicles.
The victims were teenagers Sharon Maccanico and Max Furse-Kee from Auckland, Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50, from Morrinsville, Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, from Sweden, Jacqualine Suzanne Wheeler, 71, from Rotorua, and Susan Doreen Knowles, 71, from Ngongotaha.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said two days later, as rescue attempts came to an end and emergency services declared it was now a recovery operation: "To the families who have lost loved ones - every New Zealander is grieving with you."
A number of reviews and inquiries were launched – one by the Government, coronial inquiries by police, as well as reviews and investigations by Tauranga City Council and WorkSafe.
The mother of 15-year-old Max expressed the family’s grief on February 1, the day the recovery operation came to an end.
"Max was not doing anything reckless, and this tragedy was not the result of poor judgement or a lack of care," she said. "He simply went to take a shower, in the wrong place at the wrong time."
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