Matata (Whakatane) - Council Promises and Reflections

[Brent George]

The powers of Commissioners and Council's are noted within this report following the 2005 flooding at Matata:
Stuff - National: 15-April-2020

Extinguishing resident's existing use rights is a fairly significant, as is acquiring properties, managed retreat, and open space development.
And that doesn't include climate change impacts or engineering options to mitigate the outcome of any repeated event....

[Brent George]

An update:
Six months after eviction day, one man remains in Matatā's red zone.
Stuff - Environment: 1-Oct-2021

Six months on from eviction day, one man still refuses to budge from Matatā’s red zone.

March 31 marked the end of the Bay of Plenty settlement’s controversial managed retreat process, forcing residents out of the path of a potential debris flow.

A nationally unprecedented rule change under the Resource Management Act (RMA) snuffed out the existing land use rights of anyone remaining, making them squatters on their own land