The hot pools and campground remain closed after being hit by January's deadly Mauao landslide. Photo / Kelly O'Hara
Tauranga City Council has spent more than $2 million on costs relating to January’s deadly storm.
It expects to spend millions of dollars more responding to the event over the next year, with a “significant amount” of that on legal costs, according to a new report.
A state of emergency was declared in the Bay of Plenty as the storm advanced on January 21, with record heavy rain falling that night.
Two people died when a landslide hit a Pāpāmoa residential property in the early hours. Six holidaymakers were killed when a landslide from Mauao hit the council-owned Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park and Mount Hot Pools later that morning.
Both facilities, along with Mauao and the Pilot Bay boat ramp, remain closed.
The deaths have prompted several reviews and investigations.
A report by council staff on the financial implications of the storm is on the agenda for discussion in today’s full council meeting.
Elected members will be asked to retrospectively approve some spending and consider further cost forecasts, as well as insurance matters and other funding options.
The report said costs to date related to controlling access to the Mauao site; gathering geotechnical information on damage to Mauao and the landslide risk; setting up monitoring; and welfare response and public safety responses, including establishing He Maimai Aroha community care centre.
In the response phase, more than $600,000 was spent on physical works and about $350,000 on security.
About $2.4m in total spending was committed or expected over the remainder of the current financial year, ending in June.
This figure included the full $650,000 cost for monitoring equipment, which the council expected to co-fund with New Zealand Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
The report estimated $8.575m would be needed for storm recovery-related costs in the next financial year.
This included a $6m placeholder for capital spending, with the rest being operational costs.
The report said a “significant amount of the forecast expenditure this year and for next year” was for “legal review of past documentation technical information, interviews and ongoing legal advice”.
“This work will meet the requirements of the various reviews as well as supporting [Tauranga City Council] future decisions and organisation.”
Inquiries have been opened by the coroner, WorkSafe NZ, NZ Police, Tauranga City Council and central government.
The report said the council has spent almost $500,000 on slip-related legal and professional services to date, with about another $850,000 expected over the remainder of the financial year to June.
Legal and technical support was expected to run to $2m in the following year.
Local Democracy Reporting asked the council which legal firms it had engaged in relation to the landslide, why this was required, and about the process for legal review of the hundreds of related documents it has released to the public on a dedicated Mauao landslide website.
The council referred the questions to a Local Government Official Information Acts and Meetings process, which gives the council 20 working days to respond.
In the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, staff recommended some costs come out of the council’s risk reserve fund, which had $5m as of mid-2025. This was an alternative to using rates.
Other costs would be covered by insurance, with $1m already paid to the council in advance recognition of its claim.
The report said the hot pools and campground were insured for material damage – which had a $2m sublimit for landslides – and for loss of profit.
The forecast full-year profit deficit for the holiday park was $689,000, and the council was seeking compensation for this from its insurers.
No formal insurance assessment for damage had been made because the council could not access the sites.
There would be no claim for damage to paths and tracks as “these are not insurable assets”, the report said.
The council planned to submit a claim next month to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to have all welfare costs reimbursed. Costs to date were about $31,000.
It was “not likely” to meet the threshold to qualify for NEMA funding for other costs of dealing with the event and repairing essential infrastructure, such as water assets. Staff said restoring Mauao would not be considered essential infrastructure.
The council had received $200,000 from NEMA towards its Mayoral Relief Fund, as well as $14,000 from public donations. About $90,000 had been distributed to affected businesses.
Also on the agenda for Tuesday was the council’s draft Annual Plan for 2026/27, including the budget impact of storm-related costs.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.