An independent review by former High Court judge Paul Davison KC has found that the Tauranga City Council (TCC) ignored multiple warnings about the landslide danger posed by a slope at the Mt Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, where six people died in January this year.
The review, which is 263 pages long, detailed warnings from 2005 by geo-technical experts that identified the exact point where the slip occurred and warned about the risk of multiple fatalities at the TCC-owned and operated campsite.
Systemic Failure
Davison found that the tragedy was preventable and resulted from “deeply systemic flaws” at the council, both on the day of the tragedy and in the years leading up to it.
According to the report, those warnings, which the experts repeatedly made to the council after the initial study, were ignored, along with separate geo-technical reports in 2023 and 2025 that urged the TCC to adopt a Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP) to manage landslide risk at the site.
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Davison said, “This was a systemic failure with tragic consequences. Had a TARP been in place, evacuation would likely have occurred well prior to the fatal landslide and the tragic loss of life that occurred would in all likelihood have been averted.”
Missed Opportunities
In addition to failings in the years leading up to the disaster, Davison also said the TCC missed multiple opportunities to evacuate in the 24 hours before the deaths occurred at about 9:30 am on January 22, when a landslide engulfed the campsite’s amenities block.
A state of emergency was in place at the time, as the area experienced its heaviest rainfall in more than 20 years, with 199.3mm recorded on January 21 and 96.1mm on January 22.
Davison said the first opportunity to evacuate was when MetService issued a rare “red heavy rain warning” for Bay of Plenty on January 21.
The review also noted that there were other missed chances for action when warning signs, such as smaller slips above the campground and a steady stream of muddy water flowing above the amenities block, were spotted but ignored.
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The council’s lack of foresight and robust processes contributed to the tragedy.
Preventable Tragedy
Davison said, “This review finds that this tragedy was, in the end, preventable. The hazard was known, and an effective and inexpensive means of managing the risk it posed had twice been recommended.
Davison’s review highlights the importance of having robust operational processes in place to manage known risks, and the need for councils to take heed of expert warnings and recommendations.
The TCC’s failure to do so has had devastating consequences.
