News article
Chief Ombudsman publishes final opinion on complaint against Hastings District Council
On 19 September 2023, the Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier received a complaint from a person representing people in Havelock North who were affected by the flood caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.
The majority of the complainant’s concerns related to the Hastings District Council’s alleged omissions to action certain recommendations from annual dam safety reports produced by Stantec, an engineering consultant, and to clear the local stream of known debris before Cyclone Gabrielle hit.
In particular, the complainant claimed the District Council failed to properly maintain the Mangarua and Herehere dams and the Mangarau stream from around 2004 to 2023.
The complainant believes this contributed to the flooding and erosion across the region caused by Cyclone Gabrielle.
After reviewing the information that was reasonably available, the Ombudsman considered there was no basis for him to reliably conclude that the District Council’s alleged omissions relating to the Havelock North dams and waterways caused or contributed to the post-cyclone flooding in the area.
Instead of looking at the District Council’s specific omissions regarding the dams and waterways strictly through the lens of Cyclone Gabrielle, the Ombudsman considered the omissions on their own merits and focussed his investigation on the most relevant issues of the complaint.
Those centred on the District Council’s alleged omission to action the dam safety report recommendations.
The Ombudsman found that the District Council’s omissions to implement minor recommendations did not seem to have an immediate or obvious impact on the condition and working of each dam.
However, he considered that the District Council acted unreasonably by repeatedly failing to action the substantive recommendations from the dam safety reports at the relevant times, and for not clearing the debris and obstructions in the Mangarau Stream prior to Cyclone Gabrielle.
After receiving the Ombudsman’s provisional opinion on the complaint, the District Council explained what steps it was taking to improve its management of the dams and waterways to ensure there was no neglect of important maintenance in the future. It has also committed to a programme of practical works and changes and improvements to policy, administration and communications, to June 2026.
The complainant also believed the District Council twice provided ‘disinformation’ to the local newspaper about the issue.
Mr Boshier found that one of the District Council’s statements about the waterway being cleared was wrong, though notwithstanding this, there is no evidence to suggest that the District Council made this erroneous statement deliberately.
It was his opinion that the other statement the District Council made about the complainant’s comment in the local newspaper was its honest opinion and therefore not unreasonable.
The Ombudsman recommended that the District Council publicly correct the erroneous statement. The council has agreed to do this by way of a public statement.
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