Read the Ministerial Briefing: Recommendation for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Maunganui Landslide (27 January 2026)
Following the Mount Maunganui landslide, there has been a lot of reassurance that “processes are underway” and that answers will come in time.
But as our Illusion of Consent series has shown, who controls the process - and when - determines what truths are allowed to surface.
This Ministerial Briefing, prepared by David Lynch (advocate for the CTV families following the Christchurch earthquake), sets out in clear terms why a council-led review cannot provide the level of independence, public confidence, or accountability this tragedy requires.
The briefing explains:
why the Mount Maunganui landslide meets the threshold for a Royal Commission of Inquiry
why independence from local authorities is essential when those authorities may be implicated
why early decisions about scope and control matter more than speed
and why families and communities must not be sidelined once public attention fades
This is a warning informed by lived experience - including nearly 15 years of watching families seek answers after the CTV disaster, only to find that early, compromised processes made real accountability impossible later.
The briefing calls for urgent action now, not years from now - before narratives harden, scope narrows, and the opportunity for truth is quietly lost.
