Damning report into fatal Mount Maunganui landslide shows tragedy was preventable
A formal report into a 2026 landslide at Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, concluded that the tragedy was preventable and resulted from systemic failures. Despite decades of warnings from consultants, the risk to the campground was never properly managed or escalated.
Why it matters
The report underscores the importance of institutional accountability and the failure of local government systems to act on known environmental hazards.
A report into the fatal landslide at Mount Maunganui says information identifying a risk to life was received, filed, discussed, forwarded - and then left.
"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 report said.
Six people died in the landslide on 22 January 2026. They were Lisa Maclennan, Susan Knowles, Jacqualine Wheeler, Måns Loke Bernhardsson, Sharon Maccanico, and Max Furse-Kee.
The six victims of the Mt Maunganui landslide - Måns Loke Bernhardsson, 20, Lisa Maclennan, 50, Susan Knowles, 71, Sharon Maccanico, 15, Max Furse-Kee, 15, and Jacqualine Wheeler, 71.
The external review was commissioned by the Tauranga City Council in early February.
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