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Independent Review Highlights Multiple Council Failings
Following approval of the additional $10m ‘loan’ towards the scheme from existing Deed Lakes funding in late 2024, Ministry for Environment commissioned an independent review by consultancy group Cuesko into RRSS cost overruns. Their report was publicly released in July 2025 having been discussed at a recent Rotorua Te Arawa Lakes Strategy Group (RTALSG) meeting. The report identified various failings relating to, amongst other things, the unavailability of documentation and key information, quality of consultation, and project management including financial management.
Also included was a joint statement from RTALSG members in response to the findings noting that no misconduct had been detected, but conceding to several of the identified shortcomings and committing to applying lessons learnt to ensure better early planning, cost estimation, and cultural engagement in future collaborative projects.
A summarised version of these documents can be accessed HERE.
The full Cuesko report and the RTALSG response are available HERE
. Alongside of this, local Rotoma community representatives had agreed that a request to the Ombudsman Office should be instigated, (copy HERE), to investigate the processes undertaken by Council which led to the extensive budget blow out. Regretfully, due to various reasons outlined HERE, the Ombudsman chose not to pick up this investigation.