Overview of the TCC / Tauranga Marina Society Judicial review

24/08/2026

Overview of the Tauranga City Council /Tauranga Marina Society Judicial review and Liquidation proceedings with the Nereides Trust (The Trust) - and the role of Council Management.

Introduction

Last week’s release of the external review into the 22 January landslide at Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park, stated the tragedy was preventable and has identified systemic failures within the Council.

To add insult to injury a report commissioned and released to Council just seven months before the landslide, says there was a high risk to life, but councillors never read the report nor were they advised by Council Officers.

This behaviour mirrors the treatment the Trust has received from Commissioner Tolley, CEO Marty Grenfell and other Council Officers since 2021, when trying to understand and unravel what exactly the Council was allowing to happen to the Tauranga Marina at Sulphur Point which is a public asset, and why the Council would allow this matter to become the subject of a judicial review at the expense of the ratepayer?

Why did Commissioner Tolley, the CEO and his executive team, not act immediately in the interests of their employers (the public) and sort this matter out?

Instead, Commissioner Tolley said there was nothing to see here, and CEO Marty Grenfell said nothing. In 2021 the Trust presented both Tauranga City representatives a 300-page dossier/report describing the situation at the Marina and we can only presume this was not read either.

Executive Summary background to the Tauranga Marina Society (TMS) matter.

• The core issue is not the marina management itself, but an alleged failure by Tauranga City Council (TCC) to properly oversee and protect a publicly owned asset.

• Additionally, that governance, ownership, financial stewardship, and accountability concerns have been repeatedly raised but not adequately addressed by any party.  We can conclude that today, the public are very focused on the accountability of these matters like never before.

Marina Ownership Dispute

• The Trust maintains that Tauranga City Council remains the lawful owner of the marina and associated assets.

• It argues that no evidence has been produced demonstrating a lawful transfer, sale, vesting, or disposal of marina assets to the Tauranga Marina Society (TMS).

• The 2018 Management Agreement is cited as evidence that TMS was appointed as manager and operator of the marina rather than owner.

PwC Review and Alleged Alteration of Findings

• Concerns regarding ownership were raised with Council leadership in 2021, leading to an independent review by PwC.

• The document alleges that Council officers became involved in the review process before the final report was issued.

• A central claim is that significant findings contained in the PwC ‘independent’ draft report were altered or removed in the final version, allegedly by Council officers.

• According to the document, the draft PwC report:

  • It could not determine how floating marina structures came into TMS ownership.

  • It recommended clarification of ownership arrangements.

• The final PwC report allegedly:

  • Removed this conclusion.

  • Replaced it with broader references to local government restructuring and asset vesting arrangements from 1989.

  • Suggested assets had been "transferred" to TMS despite the absence of supporting documentation.

Maintenance Fund Concerns

• TMS accounts reportedly showed a maintenance fund exceeding $2.4 million in 2016.

• The document claims the fund was intended to provide reserves for future marina replacement and maintenance obligations.

• PwC's draft report allegedly questioned the reconciliation and status of the fund.

• The final report is said to have blurred the distinction between:

  • An accounting provision for maintenance, and/

  • A genuine maintenance fund containing identifiable cash reserves or investments.

• The Trust notes that by 2025:

  • More than $3 million in berth licences had reportedly been purchased, sold or granted as part of an unlawful scheme, as the Council looked the other way.

  • The maintenance fund balance remained at zero.

• It argues this should have prompted greater scrutiny and investigation.

Failure of Council Oversight

• The Trust identifies the alleged lack of annual management reporting as a major governance failure.

• Under Clause 15 of the 2018 Management Agreement, TMS was required to provide management reports to Council by the 1^st May annually.

• These reports were intended to cover:

  • Financial performance.

  • Maintenance obligations.

  • Governance matters.

  • Berth licence activity.

  • Compliance with contractual requirements.

  • Breach of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council Resource Consent 67832.

• Following information requests, Council reportedly acknowledged that it had never received the required reports and held none on file.

• The Trust argues that this demonstrates a complete breakdown of the agreement's primary oversight mechanism.

Governance and Constitutional Issues

• The Trust claims Council representation on the TMS management committee was originally required.

• It states that constitutional changes in 2022 removed this requirement.

• The Trust argues:

  • Council approval was required for these changes.

  • Such approval was never obtained.

  • Concerns raised about the issue were ignored or not acted upon.

    
    

Alleged Pattern of Governance Failures

The Trust presents a pattern of recurring concerns, including:

• Unresolved questions about marina asset ownership.

• Lack of evidence of asset transfer to TMS.

• Disappearance of the maintenance fund.

• Failure to provide mandatory annual reports.

• Removal of Council representation from TMS governance structures.

• Alleged modification or softening of PwC draft findings.

• Repeated failure by Council management to investigate or intervene over reported breaches of the Management Agreement 2018.

  
  

Overall Conclusion

• The Trust concludes that the issues extend beyond administrative shortcomings and constitute systemic governance failures.

• It alleges that Council officers and management were aware of concerns relating to ownership, reporting, financial controls, and governance but failed to take appropriate action.

• It further contends that changes made between the draft and final PwC reports, combined with unresolved documentation issues, created the appearance of a cover-up designed to protect existing management enabling arrangements.

• The central unresolved question identified by the Trust is:

If the Tauranga Marina Society became the owner of the original marina assets which were sent to the dump or sold and then subsequently, at a reported build cost of 18 million dollars for the new marina was constructed and completed in 2026.                                           

Where is the legal documentation demonstrating the transfer, sale, or vesting of those assets, including the contributions made by berth holders, and why do these assets not appear in the Tauranga Marina Society accounts?                                                                                                                                        

Therefore, the question remains where are the assets recorded and to whom?

Until such evidence is produced, the Trust argues that Council ownership remains the most credible legal position and that this matter warrants full public scrutiny of all points made herewith, as does the alleged cover up of all the unlawful enabling activity knowingly undertaken by TCC CEO Marty Grenfell and his executive team since 2018.

END