Meredith Connell Overhauls Fees for Tauranga Landslide Defense
Tauranga landslide fees surge as Meredith Connell revamps the council’s defense costs, exposing a $1.2 million bill and tangled liability proceedings.
Meredith Connell, one of New Zealand’s largest litigation firms, has accumulated more than $1.2 million in fees advising Tauranga City Council on the legal fallout from a catastrophic landslide that killed six people at the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park in January 2026. The mounting bill reflects the multiple regulatory, inquest, and liability proceedings now pressing against the council as it attempts to respond to the tragedy while maneuvering a complicated set of statutory obligations.
According to figures presented to the council, responding to the January 22 slip has consumed more than $5 million from the council’s $7 million emergency risk reserves. Professional advice and legal review expenses have rapidly surpassed $1.7 million, with external counsel alone accounting for well over $1.2 million of that total. The council retained external legal representation just four days after the disaster struck, moving quickly to protect governance processes as official investigations and liability questions multiplied.
Public submissions on a formal Government Inquiry close this month, and the council’s structural overhaul is scheduled for late September. This schedule means additional legal work lies ahead before the matter can be considered resolved. The spending trajectory shows no signs of leveling off.
Multiple Probes Compound Exposure
An independent investigation by former High Court Judge Hon Paul Davison CNZM KC concluded the tragedy was preventable. Council Chief Executive Marty Grenfell and Mayor Mahé Drysdale accepted the report’s recommendations without reservation, but the finding of preventability has intensified scrutiny across other legal channels. The Government has established a formal inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2013, running alongside ongoing work from the Coroner and Police. Preparing submissions, managing institutional evidence, and advising council officers during witness interviews have all contributed to driving up legal costs.
WorkSafe New Zealand presents another acute risk. Because the camping ground was a council-controlled facility, the authority faces potential prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. Local authorities operating as Persons Conducting a Business or Undertaking carry stringent duties, and HSWA sections 36 through 49 carry substantial statutory penalties for non-compliance.
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The council has also had to field extensive information requests under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act. It has cited legal professional privilege and the maintenance of the law to withhold certain high‑priority operational records from public release.
A Strategic Play by Meredith Connell
The legal retainer places specialist firm Meredith Connell at the center of the council’s response. Partner Nathan Speir, a local government specialist who returned to the firm in 2024 after launching his career there and later working at Rice Speir, has been advising the Audit and Risk Committee and executive management through the inquiry proceedings. Speir has been front and center as the council works through governance frameworks and responds to multiple official investigations.
The mandate fits a broader pattern. Meredith Connell has aggressively expanded into provincial local government and public law advisory work, opening a dedicated Tauranga office to capture major municipal and regulatory workflows across the Bay of Plenty region. Jessica Easton, a local body specialist, helped establish the firm’s outpost there. The firm’s public interest, regulatory defence, and municipal law practices have grown as traditional commercial and civil litigation work has shifted toward regional public authorities.
For ratepayers across Tauranga, the financial implications extend beyond immediate response costs. When severe weather and infrastructure hazards converge, legal defence, risk mitigation, and inquiry representation can easily reach seven figures within months of an event. The council’s total expenditure is expected to climb further before the legal chapter on Mauao is finally closed.
