Tauranga City Council has corrected a claim made by its chief executive, revealing contact centre staff did receive a 111 call about slips around Mauao hours before a landslide devastated a council-run campground.
Chief executive Marty Grenfell today told the Herald the council had “no record” of a 111 call placed by local Alister McHardy, who had seen slips around the Mount Maunganui mountain before 6am on Thursday, ahead of the landslide at 9.31am.
Grenfell’s account conflicted with that of Fire and Emergency New Zealand deputy national commander Megan Stiffler, who today said her staff notified the council within minutes of McHardy’s call.
“Our call-takers made contact with the Tauranga City Council, the landowners of the camping ground, and notified them of this information at 5.51am.
“The landslip that was referenced in the 111 call received at 5.48am did not impact life or property and therefore Fire and Emergency did not dispatch firefighters to respond, instead we notified Tauranga City Council as the landowner responsible.”
In a statement just released by the council, it said further inquiries had revealed the council’s main contact centre received a call from Fire and Emergency around 5.50am.
“To clarify, the comments made by Tauranga City Council Chief Executive were related to information recorded within Tauranga City Council’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), which did not receive a call from Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
“This is an example of the importance of ensuring a complete factual record exists before commenting on information, events, and actions relating to the event, which is intended to occur as part of the independent review.”
Grenfell earlier told the Herald he was aware of the claim regarding the 111 call but stated the council had no record of it.
“We’re aware that someone’s made that comment, we have no record of it ... but again, that’ll be information that will be sort[ed] through and commented on by the independent person.”
Six people remain missing after the slip as emergency services endure inclement weather and the risk of further landslides to search for those unaccounted for in what police now describe as a “recovery”, not a rescue.
Several residents spoken to by the Herald wanted questions answered about the council’s actions on Thursday morning before and after the slip. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has acknowledged they were “legitimate” questions.
Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale has regularly cited his intention to establish an independent review following the incident.
Grenfell told the Herald he had been given a “cursory” briefing on what council staff did on Thursday morning but would not elaborate.
“I’m not going to get into the detail, but obviously we had a lot of staff on site. Leading up to the slip, there was a lot of activity, a lot of communication.
“All that information’s being compiled and [will] be provided for independent assessment.”
Grenfell confirmed he had spoken with the campsite’s manager, who he described as “distraught, devastated and grieving”.
“But we realise that we have roles and responsibilities as a local authority and all that information will be gathered in a sensible, logical way.”
Grenfell acknowledged the questions being asked by the public needed answering but also that “speculation and comments need to be clarified”.
“Only those that were directly involved in the set-up and the delivery of the emergency operation centre are privy to the facts at this stage.”
Asked how confident he was in the council’s response, Grenfell said it wouldn’t be fair to comment ahead of the review.
He said it was likely more details regarding the review would be finalised this week, including who would lead the review and its terms of reference.
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.