Tauranga City Council has extended the deadline for its external review into the Mount Maunganui landslide by a month.

Six holidaymakers died after a slip from Mauao hit the Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park on January 22, following heavy rain.

In an emergency meeting on February 2, the council voted to conduct an external review of the systems, processes and decision-making in the lead-up to the slip.

It would also consider any lessons that could help authorities prevent or respond to similar future events.

The holiday park, which remains closed, was owned and operated by the council. The council also has a role, alongside Mauao’s iwi owners, in managing the maunga.

The council commissioned retired High Court Judge, Paul Davison, KC, to lead its review.

The terms of reference said Davison’s final report should be delivered by June 30.

The council today said it had extended the deadline to the end of July “to allow sufficient time for all relevant information to be sourced and carefully considered”.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale said it was critical the work was done thoroughly and carefully.

“We fully support the independent reviewer taking the time needed to ensure the findings of the report are robust and well-founded.”

Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale speaks to media during the landslide response. Photo / Hayden Woodward

The review’s focus was on the period immediately before the slip, and particularly the hours between when a state of emergency was declared the day before as severe weather approached, and when the slip came down about 9.30am.

The scope also included the immediate aftermath, and allowed Davison to look back further if he considered it relevant.

The council said findings of the review would be publicly released.

“We know people want answers, and we remain committed to being open and transparent as this external review process continues,” Drysdale said.

He said the council’s thoughts remained with the families of those who died.

They were Pakūranga College students Max Furse-Kee and Sharon Maccanico, both 15; Rotorua friends Susan Doreen Knowles and Jacqualine Wheeler, both 71; Swedish tourist Mans Loke Bernhardsson, 20; and Morrinsville educator Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50.

Eight people were killed in two Bay of Plenty landslides on January 22. Top row are Mauao/Mount Maunganui victims, from left: Pakuranga College student couple Sharon Maccanico and Max Furse-Kee, both 15; Rotorua friends Susan (Sue) Doreen Knowles and Jacqualine (Jackie) Wheeler, both 71. Bottom row from left are Swedish tourist Mans Loke Bernhardsson, 20; Morrinsville teacher Lisa Anne Maclennan, 50 from the Mauao event. Bottom right are Austen Keith Richardson, 10, and his grandmother, Yao Fang, 71, who were killed in the Welcome Bay Rd slip in Pāpāmoa.

The council has previously said more than 100,000 potentially relevant documents were identified after the slip.

More than 500 have been released publicly on the council’s website.

The council engaged four legal firms to help it respond to formal inquiries into the tragedy.

The Government has started a separate inquiry, led by retired Supreme Court judge Sir Mark O’Regan.

That inquiry also includes the deaths of Yao Fang, 71, and her grandson Austen Keith Richardson, 10, in a landslide on Welcome Bay Rd earlier on the morning of January 22.

Work started on March 30 and the Department of Internal Affairs published an update on May 15.

In the update, O’Regan said one of the first priorities had been contacting the families of those who died, as well as to iwi and visiting key sites.

He said the inquiry would work to identify exactly what happened and what can be learned to reduce the risk of similar tragedies in the future.

The terms of reference for the inquiry said it would have regard to the council-commissioned report but would not be bound by it.

Its final report must be delivered by December 3.

Police, on behalf of the Coroner, and WorkSafe were also conducting inquiries.

WorkSafe’s inquiry into the campground slip opened in February and was expected to take a full year.