A fatal landslide in New Zealand provides a confronting reminder that identifying and documenting a risk is not enough. Someone must take responsibility for ensuring it is escalated and acted upon.
This article was brought to VMBSG’s attention by Bronwyn Weir of Weir Legal and Consulting because of its clear relevance to councils, governance and the management of known risks to public safety.
Matt Jones has written about the findings of an independent review into the fatal Mauao landslide in New Zealand, which occurred on council-owned land.
Seven months before the landslide, a report had identified a high risk to life. The report was circulated and included on the agenda for a council meeting, but that meeting was cancelled. The identified risk was not subsequently escalated or acted upon.
Six people died in the landslide, including two 15-year-olds.
Tauranga City Council has now released the independent review conducted by retired High Court judge Paul Davison KC and accepted its findings in full.
Matt highlights one particularly confronting finding from page 202 of the report:
“The failure was not the fault of any one person; it was the failure of a system that enabled an identified risk to life to remain unowned, un-escalated and unmanaged.”
The risk was not unknown. It had been identified and documented, but responsibility for ensuring it was addressed was not clearly held by anyone.
The circumstances raise important questions for councils and other organisations responsible for public safety. What happens when a report identifies a serious risk? Who is responsible for reading it, escalating it and ensuring appropriate action is taken? If a scheduled meeting is cancelled or a key person is unavailable, what safeguards prevent the matter from being overlooked?
Matt Jones is a New Zealand-based executive advisor specialising in governance and critical risk. He is also a keynote speaker, the founder of Advanced Safety and the producer of Safety Summit 2026 in Christchurch.
His article examines what the Mauao findings should mean for other organisations and the systems they rely upon to manage serious risks.