The government inquiry into January's fatal landslides in Tauranga had to be extended partly because agencies were slow to hand over information, according to a Cabinet paper released by officials, RNZ reports.
The slips at Mount Maunganui and on Welcome Bay Road in Pāpāmoa killed eight people. Minister Brooke van Velden announced in September that the inquiry, chaired by Sir Mark O'Regan, would report in February, two months later than planned, citing delays to a separate review commissioned by Tauranga City Council.
The 2 September paper also points to delays from unnamed participant agencies, which were dealing with several other inquiries, and to the volume of evidence, with more than 20,000 documents received. The inquiry has a $5 million budget and expects to cover the extension within it.
Source: RNZ
