Maree's house was a 100-year-old villa with a distinctive bright green roof, on a large property overlooking a busy roundabout near Waiuku's township. In December, a notice was posted by council inspectors saying that a 1.5m retaining wall associated with the development had been insufficient to support Maree's home. A bigger, more substantial retaining wall had been proposed, but subsequent earthworks which were left exposed for months had destabilised the wall, leaving the property at risk of collapse. Mehami said the situation had happened because his builder had "disappeared" and failed to do an "inspection" of the retaining wall. Maynard also encouraged anyone who found themselves living in a tent to apply to Work and Income for emergency accomodation.

Source: Stuff January 13, 2024 18:55 UTC