Tauranga council boss is not quitting - says he's 'best placed' to drive changes

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell says a “huge question mark has to hang over” the future of the council’s chief executive in light of the review into the Mauao tragedy that claimed six lives.

“This is a massive problem,” he told Newstalk ZB’s Ryan Bridge Early Edition.

“We’ve got a very tragic situation where six people have lost their lives in a preventable situation due to systemic failure within the organisation. And a huge question mark has to hang over the CEO.“

Uffindell said he was yet to read through the full report but noted there were several others underway, including a Government inquiry.

“I don’t want to preempt those processes. I want to understand all the findings and ensure accountability where it belongs.”

The release of the first review into the fatal Mount Maunganui landslide has prompted calls for accountability and action.

The review, led by Paul Davison, KC, found the tragedy was “preventable” and identified systemic failures within Tauranga City Council spanning more than two decades.

Six people died when the landslide from Mauao hit the council-owned campground at its foot about 9.30am on January 22 after record rain.

Today chief executive Marty Grenfell said he was never made aware of any risk to life or risk of slips at Mauao in the eight years he’d led the organisation.

He refused to say whether he’d offered or considered resigning as a result.

Speaking on Ryan Bridge TODAY, Grenfell described the report as “accurate”, “damning and “confronting” but rejected the idea that it was unfair on him as the council’s leader.

“The reason for commissioning this report was to get early information in order to act and make changes.

”My focus is to do that. I’ve been involved with this organisation for for eight years. I know it better than anybody. I’m best placed to drive the changes that Mr Davison has highlighted."

Grenfell said the reports done on Mauao and provided to council’s operational arm came from as early as 1999, and he was not made aware of them until they surfaced in online searches following the tragedy.

Asked whether that was indicative of problems within the organisation’s leadership, Grenfell stressed it was “a systems issue”.

“The systems have been in place for a long time ... Obviously, we failed in this situation.”

Local Government Minister Simon Watts said he now wants to review other councils across New Zealand in light of the report to ensure each has the appropriate systems and processes to access and act on information at hand.

“When it’s preventable, it hurts even more,” Watts told Ryan Bridge TODAY.

“We need to get assurance from councils across the country that the problems that have been identified in Tauranga don’t exist on a more widespread issue across the country.“

He said the fact there was prior knowledge of risk to life at Mauao, but no processes and systems in place to monitor and regulate them, was “the failure of this sad, very sad circumstance“.

As Minister for Local Government, I’ll be seeking assurance that that risk and process doesn’t exist across other parts of councils and other parts of the country.

Tauranga Mayor Mahe Drysdale called the report “confronting” - particularly its finding that there had been multiple lost opportunities to act.

He had personally apologised to the families, telling them “this is unacceptable from our organisation”, he told Newstalk ZB’s Mike Hosking Breakfast.

“The clear thing here is we’ve got to make sure any report that comes in tells us there’s a risk of life, it’s escalated up the organisation so we can manage it.”

Risk to life ignored

Mount Maunganui resident Colin McGonagle told the Herald he was “frustrated and disappointed” by what he viewed as the lack of personal accountability from senior leaders at Tauranga City Council after the report.

Two of the geotechnical reports emphasising the risk to life were commissioned recently, in December 2023 and June 2025 respectively.

“Frustration and definitely disappointment – recent reports that have been ignored. At what point is somebody held accountable?” McGonagle said.

He understood the review found safety warnings were not heeded because of organisational failures, but believed leadership responsibility should rest with council chief executive Marty Grenfell and Mayor Mahé Drysdale.

Both leaders have committed to seeing the council implement Davison’s recommendations.

Davison’s review found no individual accountable for the tragedy.

McGonagle took photos of small slips, water rushing down the bank, and an image of the campground manager and a council staff member on a golf buggy at 7.40am on the day of the disaster.

The images helped the review team build a timeline of what happened.

He was confident the Mount would open again, given it was a treasure to thousands of locals.

“It’s their ritual, it’s their church for a lot of people here. It’s where they get healing, walking up there and walking around it. It’s a blessing,” he said.

Political reaction 

Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the Government needed to act “immediately” to prevent a repeat of the tragedy. 

In a statement to the Herald, Hipkins said: “The Government needs to take this review and act immediately to ensure a tragedy like this never happens again. 

“Too often, after disasters, we hear promises that lessons will be learned. The real test is whether governments and councils actually act on those lessons.” 

Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell (from left), Mayor Mahé Drysdale and retired judge Paul Davison, KC, at the council's Mount Maunganui landslide review media conference. Photo / Alyse Wright 

Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford said the findings were “deeply confronting” and the focus now needed to be on addressing the systemic failures identified in the review. 

“People rightly expect councils to put public safety first.” 

Rutherford said accountability mattered but he was not interested in rushing to conclusions about whether individuals, including Grenfell, should resign. 

He welcomed the council accepting all of the review’s recommendations and said he would be watching to ensure they were acted on. 

Rutherford said the Government’s separate inquiry into the landslide would consider the review alongside other evidence before reaching its own conclusions. 

Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford. Photo / Alex Cairns 

He said legislative changes could be considered if the inquiry identified a need for them. 

Rutherford also backed reopening Mauao when it was safe to do so, and said the future of the campground should be considered by council in consultation with the community. 

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell said he was not surprised the review found systemic failure within Tauranga City Council. 

He said the public would expect accountability but he wanted to read the full report and consider the Government’s separate inquiry before drawing conclusions about individual responsibility. 

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell. Photo / Alex Cairns 

Uffindell said it was now up to the council to properly implement the review’s recommendations and he acknowledged people who felt disappointed by missed warning signs had every “right to feel let down”. 

“The thoughts of everyone need to be with the families and the loved ones of those who are no longer here today because of the tragic circumstances.” 

Act’s local MP Cameron Luxton said the review answered important questions about the events leading up to “that terrible day”. 

“I hope this report provides some answers for the families of those who died.” 

He said Mount Maunganui businesses were still waiting for clarity about what happens next. 

Luxton said businesses had lost trade, with some “barely hanging on” and others having closed. 

Act MP Cameron Luxton is based in Tauranga. 

He said more clarity was needed about what work remained on Mauao, who was responsible for it, and when access could be restored. 

“People understand Mauao cannot reopen until it is safe. What we need is more light on a plan for getting access back.” 

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell acknowledged Tauranga City Council’s “open and honest” response to the review and said all councils should learn from its findings. 

“While our Rotorua council has not yet had the opportunity to fully review the report, I accept the challenge and request from Mayor Mahé [Drysdale] to ensure this tragedy prompts all councils and other organisations across New Zealand to learn from this.” 

She said the Rotorua Lakes Council had processes in place to identify and manage natural hazard risks. 

“However, we are now committed to reviewing our own risk assessments and management processes to ensure we remain confident that appropriate safeguards are in place for our communities and visitors. 

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo / NZME 

“Our thoughts are with those still grieving the tragic loss of six lives in the Mauao landslide.” 

Two Rotorua residents were among those lost. 

Other inquiries continue 

The chairman of the Government inquiry into the fatal landslides in Tauranga, Sir Mark O’Regan, confirmed the inquiry will consider the Davison report, but noted the two had different terms of reference. 

“The Government inquiry’s scope covers both the Mauao and Welcome Bay Rd landslides, and the actions of all relevant agencies, not just Tauranga City Council.” 

O’Regan expressed sympathy to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, as well as to the injured and everyone affected by the January landslides. 

WorkSafe central regional manager Nigel Formosa said the agency’s investigation was focused on “potential duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 prior to the landslide”. 

It was considering material from the council and other sources, and would review Davison’s report. 

“We will reach our own findings and determine next steps based on the evidence gathered through our investigation. It’s important that we don’t pre-empt any investigation outcomes.” 

WorkSafe New Zealand central regional manager Nigel Formosa. 

Formosa said WorkSafe’s investigation, which began in February, could take up to 12 months, with no further updates expected until later this year. 

Bay of Plenty Police crime manager Detective Inspector Lindsay Pilbrow said the police investigation into the fatal landslides at Mount Maunganui and Welcome Bay Rd continued. 

“We are also continuing to make inquiries on behalf of the coroner. 

“Police’s family liaison officers remain in contact with the families, and our heartfelt thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones.” 

Pilbrow said it would be inappropriate for police to comment further at this stage. 

- Additional reporting NZ Herald