The Government will launch its own inquiry into the January landslides in the Bay of Plenty that claimed eight lives.
It follows Tauranga City Council’s decision to conduct an external review into the slip at the base of Mount Maunganui’s Mauao, which killed six people and prompted an 11-day recovery mission.
Associate Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Chris Penk has written to families who lost relatives in the January 22 slips, as well as Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale, to confirm the Government’s decision.
The families have been invited to participate in the inquiry but any involvement would be voluntary.
The focus would primarily be on the Mauao slip but would extend to the Pāpāmoa landslide in Welcome Bay Rd, where appropriate.
The Government is yet to finalise who would lead the inquiry, but it would likely include someone with geo-technical expertise.
The inquiry is expected to take six to nine months and would likely cost several millions.
Cabinet agreed in principle to an inquiry on Monday with terms of reference expected to be decided in the coming weeks.
The inquiry is not intended to determine liability, with Cabinet wary of overlapping with any WorkSafe investigations.
A primary factor behind the Government’s decision to launch an inquiry alongside the council’s review is to respond to sentiment in the local community that the independence of a council review was undermined by the fact it managed the campsite where the Mauao slip occurred and concerns council staff failed to act on earlier slips and missed other warning signs.
It’s understood the inquiry would address unfounded speculation the slip was partly caused by the previous removal of trees on the mountain, which Drysdale has strongly dismissed.
Penk told the Herald he believed an inquiry led by the Government would be “helpful”, given the council’s potential conflict of interest.
“Cabinet’s view is that it will be helpful for the people of Tauranga to have comfort that an inquiry is held, independent of any parties whose actions might have been said to contribute or at least have some sort of involvement in terms of ownership or management of the relevant area.
“Obviously, if the council is determined to proceed with an inquiry as Mayor Drysdale has said, then we hope that from the organisation’s point of view, they’ll be able to learn any lessons that are relevant for them going forward too.”
Penk, who was given the associate ministerial portfolio soon after the slips, said his visits to the region had revealed a ”clear” expectation the Government would hold its own inquiry separate to the council’s review.
He expected the inquiry’s focus would be “very heavily on learning lessons”.
“Obviously we’ll need to find out the facts of the situation leading up to the tragic events of that day, but with a heavy emphasis on ensuring that there isn’t a repeat in this area or elsewhere around New Zealand, in terms of warnings, in terms of land use, in terms of any other relevant factors that that contributed to the event.”
Should the inquiry last nine months, a report could be ready in the weeks before the November general election.
Penk said he would avoid releasing a report ahead of the election.
“It might be that it would be helpful to have the inquiry report back after the election just so that an incoming Government of whatever stripe could have the opportunity to consider that and not be looking to rush decisions or be unable to make decisions or respond properly in that pre-election period.”
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.