Trees wouldn’t have held off deadly Mt Maunganui landslide, specialist says
Monday, 26 January 2026
Trees would likely not have prevented the fatal Mt Maunganui landslide, says disaster risk specialist Dr Tom Robinson.
Robinson, a senior lecturer at the University of Canterbury’s School of Earth and Environment told The Post that trees would not have held back a landslide of that depth and scale.
There had been a slip in the same place in 1977, there was a lot of rain, and the slide was a deep one, said the disaster risk and resilience specialist.
“I’m not sure trees would have made any difference,” he told The Post of a disaster that killed six people at Beachside Holiday Park.
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While there is no official evidence Māori or iwi removing distressed trees from the slopes caused or contributed to the disaster, some social media postings have taken that line.
On-line discussions speculated iwi agreements, cultural practices, or decisions about the land and vegetation around Mauao had led to trees being removed in ways that weakened the slopes.
The landslide is being treated as a result of natural slope instability after extreme rainfall and geological conditions, and a review has been called to understand the causes.
Mauao Trust chair Matemoana McDonald told The Post that out of respect to the families of the dead, the trust would make no comment until the bodies of those lost had been recovered.
Once that was done the trust was willing to answer questions around its care and management of the mountain.
In 2007, the three principal iwi of Tauranga Moana ‒ Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga ‒ reclaimed ownership of Mauao from the Crown, returning it to iwi stewardship.
In 2008, the Mauao Historic Reserve Vesting Act established the Mauao Trust to hold title to Mauao on behalf of the iwi. Under this legislation, Tauranga City Council retained its role as the administrative authority.
Those sharing racist rhetoric about the role of iwi in caring for the maunga should stop, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today said, as recovery efforts resumed.
Asked about comments circulating online, the prime minister said he was aware of misinformation but the focus needed to be on recovering those still missing in the landslide.
“There always is, in circumstances like this, and that's why we want to make sure right here right now we are doing everything we can in recovery mode to make sure we recover six people,” he said.
“Right here, right now we need to stay together and support each other and come together in unity ‒ which is what this community has done by the vast majority exceptionally well.
“And the people on the margins with their rhetoric, they need to just frankly keep it to themselves.”
Iwi had been a critical part of the response to the recent storms, Luxon said.
“I’ve been so impressed by how everyone has worked together and iwi have been a critical part in the conversations about how we do response and recovery, and need to be at the table going forward big time ‒ and we’ve made sure that’s the case, that will happen,” he said.
Some Reddit users pushed back on claims that recent tree removal caused the landslide, calling that misinformation or speculation.
One contributor who pushed back showed where trees were removed, and that they weren’t directly above the campsite.