Accountability must start at the top: Marty Grenfell should resign

The Tauranga Ratepayers’ Alliance is joining our sister organisation, the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, in calling for Tauranga City Council Chief Executive Marty Grenfell to resign.

The independent review by former High Court Judge Hon Paul Davison KSO KC into the tragic Mauao landslide makes for devastating reading.

The review found that the risk of a landslide affecting the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park had been known to Council for more than two decades. Consultants recommended specific measures to manage that risk, but they were not implemented.

Davison found systemic failures within the organisation, including a lack of clear ownership of risks to life, recommendations not being tracked through to completion, and failures to escalate concerns. In the 24 hours before the landslide, Council also missed several opportunities to evacuate the affected area.

Most damningly, the review concluded that the tragedy was preventable and that, had the affected area been evacuated and kept clear, the loss of six lives would likely have been avoided.

The report does not assign blame to any individual. But leadership means taking responsibility when systems fail this catastrophically.

An apology and another promise to do better are not enough.

Marty Grenfell should resign.

👉 Sign our petition and demand accountability at the top.