Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell resigns

What happened

Tauranga City Council chief executive Marty Grenfell has resigned after eight years in the job. Mayor Mahé Drysdale announced the resignation on Tuesday and said Grenfell's last day will be Friday 2 October.

The resignation follows an independent review into the 22 January landslide at the council-owned Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, which killed six people. The review, led by former High Court judge Paul Davison KC, said the tragedy was preventable. It found the landslide hazard was identified repeatedly over more than two decades and that the council missed opportunities over 27 years to act. It attributed this to systemic failures and did not find an individual accountable. It made 10 recommendations.

Drysdale said the council respects Grenfell's decision and thanked him for his "unwavering commitment to public service". The council will appoint an interim chief executive and start recruiting a permanent replacement as soon as possible. Drysdale said it wants a leader who can drive "significant change" as it responds to the review and other inquiries and investigations under way.

After the review was released, Grenfell said the council accepted its findings "without qualification" and would implement every recommendation. He said he was accountable for the organisation's performance. He also said he had not offered his resignation and was confident he was the best person to lead the council through a "difficult period". Drysdale had also backed him, saying he was in a good position to put in place risk management urgently. Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell earlier said there was a "huge question mark" over Grenfell's position.

The council has set up an Organisation Improvement Programme to overhaul its risk management, governance, emergency preparedness and workplace culture. Drysdale said councillors will keep demanding "tangible, verifiable evidence" of change from the interim chief executive and senior leaders.

Key facts

• Marty Grenfell has resigned as Tauranga City Council chief executive after eight years.
• His last day is Friday 2 October, Mayor Mahé Drysdale said.
• The Davison review into the 22 January Mount Maunganui landslide, which killed six people, found it was preventable and made 10 recommendations.
• The council will appoint an interim chief executive and begin recruiting a permanent replacement.
• The council says it accepted all the review's findings and recommendations.

What you need to know

• An interim chief executive is to be appointed; no name has been given.
• The council's Organisation Improvement Programme is already under way, covering risk management, governance, emergency preparedness and culture.

What happens next

The council will appoint an interim chief executive before Grenfell leaves on Friday and start recruiting a permanent replacement. Councillors say they will require evidence of change through the improvement programme.

Still to be confirmed

• Who will be the interim chief executive.
• The reason Grenfell decided to resign now, as no explanation from him has been reported.
• The outcome of the other inquiries and investigations the mayor says are under way.