The catastrophic slip from Mauao onto Beachlands holiday park killed six campers and became the focus of the media coverage for days. Online posts that claimed the removal of non-native trees for protection of culturally significant sites contributed to the landslide were widely shared. News media clear up the pictureUnder the headline Did tree removal really trigger the Mount Maunganui landslide? Mauao may have been a disaster waiting to be triggered by extreme weather, but not solely for the reasons that some non-experts claimed online. "I had no idea until this week," Newstalk ZB host Jack Tame said on air last Monday.

Source: Stuff February 01, 2026 02:06 UTC