3Public forum — Opportunity for public to address the Board.
4Acceptance of late items — Board considers any items received after the agenda was published.
5Confidential business to be transferred into the open — Any confidential items to be moved to open session.
6Change to order of business — Board may vary the order of agenda items.
7.1Minutes of the Ngā Poutiriao ō Mauao meeting held on 12 June 2025 — Confirmation of minutes from the previous meeting.
8Declaration of conflicts of interest — Members declare any conflicts relevant to agenda items.
9.1Mauao Trust Update — Verbal update from Mauao Trust; no attachments.
9.2Operational Report — Staff report on operational activity May–July 2025, including visitor numbers, events, incidents, pest control, and the HD Geo Geohazard Review Report.
9.3Project Updates August 2025 — Progress update on all Mauao Implementation Plan projects and other activities, with the Implementation Plan attached.
10Discussion of late items — Discussion of any late items accepted under item 4.
11Closing karakia — Karakia to close the meeting.
1. What's tracking or delivered
3 of 4 Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) entranceway cameras installed; final camera in progress on existing power pole (item 9.2, p.21)
730 rabbits controlled via shooting on Mauao in the 2024/25 financial year (item 9.2, p.23)
2025 planting sites completed; bespoke stonework resealed by Law Creative ahead of Matariki (item 9.2, p.21)
F2 Placemaking and Interpretation: additional seating, fencing and signage scheduled for completion by end of July 2025; 2021 approved elements completed June 2024 (item 9.3, p.80)
F9 Rock Stability Monitoring Programme: complete; HD Geo engaged, first report (geohazard register and risk assessment) delivered 6 June 2025 (item 9.2, p.25)
2. What's at risk
HD Geo's 2025 risk assessment rates rockfall to track users as HIGH on Te Ara Waikorire, Te Ara Oruahine, western Te Ara Tūtanga (base track), and Te Ara O Tūtauaroa (goat track); campground rated HIGH for both rockfall to life and to assets — yet no detailed quantitative risk assessment has been completed for 20 years, while visitor numbers have grown to 1.37 million in 2024 (item 9.2, p.46, p.51)
2006 Avalon risk assessment found rockfall 'not tolerable' for Oruahine, Waikorire and campground users; 2025 HD Geo assessment generally aligns — yet the 2006 thresholds are now less stringent than current Department of Conservation (DOC) Natural Hazard Risk Analysis (NHRA) guidance, meaning results previously rated 'acceptable' or 'tolerable' may now be 'not tolerable' (item 9.2, p.33)
6 recorded rockfall near-misses to the public in the last 20 years on Te Ara Tūtanga, Te Ara Oruahine and Te Ara Waikorire; 101 recorded landslide or rockfall events since 1999; campground permanent cabins sit within the rockfall run-out zone established by 2003 blasting (item 9.2, p.32, p.51, p.52)
HD Geo recommends a full Part 3 NHRA quantitative risk assessment for Te Ara Tūtanga, campground, Te Ara O Tūtauaroa, Te Ara Oruahine and Te Ara Waikorire — no timeline, budget, or decision to commission this work is presented to the Board today (item 9.2, p.51)
F4 Hang Gliding and Paragliding: annual report and vehicle-access permission from Bay of Plenty (BOP) Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club are 'now overdue'; Mauao Trust has health and safety concerns about the activity; decision deferred pending resting-period decisions (item 9.3, p.81)
F8 Mauao Resting Period: discussions 'ongoing for a number of years'; no preferred period yet determined; Mauao Trust still deliberating — events decision-making framework also blocked pending resting outcome (item 9.3, p.81, p.86)
F1 Archaeological Research Strategy: matauranga Māori review 'underway and anticipated to be completed in the very short term' — initiated at September 2021 workshop; no completion date stated (item 9.3, p.79)
F10 Fatality Management Procedure: scoping document with Mauao Trust for review; adoption targeted for November 2025 meeting — no Fatality Management Plan currently in place (item 9.3, p.82)
F12 Sponsorship Framework and S1 Concessionaire Standards: both 'not progressed since some earlier conversations'; both described as 'important' for funding Mauao management; report-back to Ngā Poutiriao targeted end of 2025 calendar year (item 9.3, p.83)
May 2005 extreme rainfall (350 mm in 24 hours, 1-in-150-year event) triggered 54 landslides; 2011 rainfall triggered up to 80 landslides; Zone 6 summit boulders 6b 21–23 show 150–200 mm of movement in electronic distance measuring (EDM) monitoring — establishing the baseline severity of recurring triggers (item 9.2, p.32)
Mauao Trust requested a fixed $30,000 annual operational funding from Tauranga City Council (TCC) via the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); staff confirmed only $10,000 set aside annually; no resolution on the gap reported (item 7.1, p.13)
May 2025 pest monitoring pulse recorded the largest percentage of rats since monitoring began in 2021; mice rose to 60% post-pulse, showing resilience to the multi-feed Ditrac pesticide compared to single-feed Contrac (item 9.2, p.23)
3. What's unmeasured or missing
No timeline, budget estimate, or decision to commission the recommended NHRA Part 3 quantitative risk assessment is presented — the Board is receiving a report that identifies high risk but is not being asked to authorise the next step (item 9.2, p.51)
No Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP) for heavy rainfall or seismic events exists; HD Geo recommends one but no action or timeline is proposed to the Board today (item 9.2, p.50)
S2 Pest Control Plan: implementation ongoing but the plan itself has not been formally documented or adopted; target for adoption is June 2026 — no performance metrics or outcome targets stated for pest control activity (item 9.3, p.84)
S3 Walkway Plan: no formalised walkway plan prepared; day-to-day management ongoing without a plan; report-back not due until June 2026 (item 9.3, p.84)
S7 Digital Storytelling: Arataki Cultural Trails App removed from App Store and Google Play; Takawaenga Māori Unit working on a proposal with no stated timeline or budget for replacement (item 9.3, p.85)
F11 Kaitiaki Programme: 'no TCC budget to support implementation'; Mauao Trust has been leading design for 'a number of years' — no cost estimate, funding source, or implementation timeline stated (item 9.3, p.83)
Operational Report covers volunteer support, events, incidents, pest control, and rock stability monitoring but states no performance measures, targets, or baselines for any of these work areas (item 9.2, p.19–24)
HD Geo's 2025 geohazard assessment is based on a desk study and visual walkover only; no intrusive investigation completed; the report states 'a detailed quantitative risk assessment may indicate the risk presented is lower or higher than estimated' (item 9.2, p.52)
4. Questions to ask
HD Geo recommends a full NHRA Part 3 quantitative risk assessment for five high-risk tracks and the campground — what is the estimated cost and timeline to commission this work, and who is accountable for bringing a decision to the Board? (item 9.2)
The campground's permanent cabins sit within the rockfall run-out zone established in 2003 — has TCC assessed its liability exposure, and are campers currently informed of this risk? (item 9.2)
The BOP Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club's annual report and vehicle-access permission are 'now overdue' — what is the legal or operational consequence of operating without a current permission, and when will this be resolved? (item 9.3)
Mauao Trust requested $30,000 annual operational funding but only $10,000 is currently set aside — what process and timeline will determine whether the gap is addressed, and through which plan cycle? (item 7.1)
The F8 Resting Period and the events decision-making framework have both been 'in progress for a number of years' with no resolution — what specific milestone or date will trigger a decision, and what happens to the overdue hang gliding permission in the meantime? (item 9.3)
The F10 Fatality Management Procedure has no plan currently in place and 1.37 million visitors annually — what interim arrangements govern a fatality on Mauao while the plan is being developed? (item 9.3)
The Arataki Cultural Trails App has been removed from app stores — is there a risk that existing digital interpretation infrastructure becomes inaccessible to visitors before a replacement is ready, and what is the Takawaenga Māori Unit's expected reporting date? (item 9.3)
5. What you're endorsing by accepting
Confirming the 12 June 2025 minutes, including the resolutions to re-allocate $95,000 for seating/fencing/signage and $45,000 for CCTV from the Mauao Development budget (item 7.1)
Receiving the Operational Report, including the HD Geo Geohazard Review Report, without being asked to authorise or fund the recommended NHRA quantitative risk assessment — accepting the current high-risk status of multiple tracks and the campground as a 'receive only' matter (item 9.2)
Receiving the Project Updates report, which embeds the deferral of hang gliding/paragliding decisions and the events decision-making framework until resting-period direction is provided by Mauao Trust — normalising continued deferral without a stated deadline (item 9.3)
Accepting that F11 Kaitiaki Programme implementation has no TCC budget, and that F12 Sponsorship Framework and S1 Concessionaire Standards have not been progressed — with report-backs deferred to end of 2025 calendar year (item 9.3)
Coverage
Analysed: Ngā Poutiriao ō Mauao and Mauao Trust joint meeting — 6 August 2025 — Source ⓘ Dense formatting in this document means some details might not have made it in. Check the source PDF to be sure.
