Tony was engaged as an expert advisor by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) for Determination 2016/034, issued 22 July 2016.

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This determination related to a refusal by Council to grant a waiver for two building consents for proposed buildings to be reconstructed on land subject to a natural hazard. Following a debris flow (a combination of a flash flood and landslide) a decade earlier, a slurry of more than 250,000 m3 dislodged and destroyed several homes in the seaside town of Matata.

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The local Council deemed that the hazard was such that there was an intolerable life-safety risk to residents and refused to issue the waiver. The affected owners appealed but the determination upheld Council’s decision.