This is edition 2026/012 of the Ten@10 newsletter.
Hi all,
This is the Ten@10, where I collate and summarise ten news items you generally won't see in the mainstream media.
Enjoy!
Asking questions is not racism
Matua Kahurangi
- 🌧️ Extreme Rainfall Trigger: The landslip at Mt Maunganui was triggered by extreme rainfall, but underlying conditions made the disaster more severe.
- 🌳 Role of Mature Trees: Mature trees like English Oaks stabilize slopes, slow runoff, and prevent landslides. Removing these trees increased the risk.
- 🌲 Cultural vs. Physical Risk: The removal of non-native trees was driven by cultural restoration policies, which may have prioritized ideology over geotechnical stability.
- 🏞️ Lack of Consultation: Local residents weren't properly consulted about the risks of tree removal and its effect on slope stability.
- 🏚️ Consequences of Removal: The landslide buried property and cost lives, raising questions about whether cultural directives influenced decisions that compromised safety.
- 🧩 Call for Accountability: If cultural bodies influenced the decisions, they should be held accountable for the physical risks their policies created.
- ⚖️ Need for Transparency: Questions are raised about whether geotechnical assessments were done, and whether cultural restoration objectives overshadowed public safety concerns.
- 🌱 Alternative Approaches: A suggestion that large trees could have been retained until native species provided similar stabilization.
- 🔍 Public Safety vs. Ideology: The landslide highlights the consequences of decisions made without sufficient focus on physical risk management.
