Tiniroto bridge in Wairoa is near to collapse due to slash build-up. Video / Tish Peterson
The ministerial inquiry into the forestry slash and other woody debris that caused extensive damage to the Tairāwhiti region during Cyclone Gabrielle has found several failings on behalf of Gisborne District Council to regulate the local forestry industry and protect its residents and environment.
The inquiry, led by Ruatoria-born former National Government minister Hekia Parata, found the council had made “several significant poor choices that have put people and the environment at severe risk”, ranging from its “capitulation” in monitoring forestry consents and compliance to its decisions not to collaborate with mana whenua.
It also recommends the appointment of two commissioners and a Crown facilitator to assist with the council’s Resource Management Act requirements and the government resources needed in relation to the inquiry’s findings.
In a statement, Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz blasted the inquiry’s findings, saying the council “fundamentally disagree[s]” with several recommendations and claimed some commentary within the report was “unsubstantiated” and outside the inquiry’s terms of reference.
“We went into this inquiry in good faith with a view to working to ensure that in implementing the recommendations, we had the best interests of our community at heart. This is incredibly disappointing.”
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz was "incredibly disappointed" by the inquiry's report. Photo / RNZ
Stoltz, intending to speak with ministers about the report, refused to comment further on what commentary she felt was unsubstantiated or outside the inquiry’s remit.
Parata, speaking to the Herald, said she respected the mayor’s position but backed her findings and was confident it was within the inquiry’s scope.
“We are 100 per cent confident that we can substantiate everything we have said,” she said.
“[The Gisborne District Council] just have clearly not been able to to do all of what they’re required to do.”
The 44-page report’s 49 recommendations included establishing a “Woody Debris Taskforce” that would co-ordinate the current and future debris clean-ups, with forest owners footing 80 per cent of the bill in an effort to “restore their social licence within the community”.
Among calls to immediately halt large-scale clear-fell harvesting in Tairāwhiti and Wairoa and changes to farming and forestry practices, the report has a grim warning that if actions aren’t taken within the next decade, it could lead to wide-scale land collapse.
“We heard from experts that the situation is perilous – the time to act is now,” it said.
“In their estimation, we have 5-10 years to turn this environmental disaster around.”
Environment Minister David Parker said ministers would “promptly” consider the report and make decisions on recommendations “as soon as possible”.
Environment Minister David Parker and other ministers will be considering the report promptly. Photo / Mark Mitchell
He confirmed it would inform the current review of the National Environmental Standards on plantation forestry.
The two-month inquiry was extended by almost two weeks as public engagement took longer than expected. In the end, 318 written submissions were made, alongside meetings with a total of 50 communities and groups with about 500 people.
It found the current clean-up effort of the debris was “ad hoc” and more slash remained in streams or on hillsides, threatening to impact communities again.
That informed the call for a taskforce to co-ordinate the response now and into the future, potentially paid for through the Forest Owners Association levy on log sales.
“We recommend that ministers ensure that a sustainable funding model is established, using regulatory powers if required.”
Given the report’s focus on land use, the authors found current land use was unsustainable, with the loss of soil getting “perilously close to being irretrievable”.
Highly erodible gullies were highlighted as severe problems. Such gullies comprised about half the erosion in the region, despite representing just 2 per cent of the region’s area.
“To date, efforts to restore these gullies have barely kept pace with the formation of new ones.
“The solution, in our view, is to pursue a more nuanced vision of a mosaic of sustainable land uses - both protective and productive - that are more appropriate to their place in the landform.”
A large slip came very close to the home of Clive (69) and Helen Foster (58) on Taurau Valley Rd near Gisborne. Photo / George Heard
The report proposed that land with “extreme erosion susceptibility” be returned to native forest. It suggested a staged approach to forestry harvesting to limit residue at any one time.
The forestry industry was criticised throughout the report, which said it had a “culture of poor practices” - facilitated by the Gisborne District Council’s “capitulation to the permissiveness of the regulatory regime”.
It cited the felling of 4500 hectares of forest in one catchment over a 3-5 year period, which led to sediment and woody material forming debris flows that caused “devastating damage downstream”.
Parata said she was heartened by the reaction of Eastland Wood Council chief executive Philip Hope who, speaking on behalf of some members of the forestry industry, welcomed the report and stated his support for the proposed taskforce alongside a “fair and equitable” clean-up of woody debris.
Except for Mayor Stotlz’s response, Parata said messages of support for the report had “flooded in” from people in person and through text and email.
Green Party forestry and environment spokeswoman Eugenie Sage agreed with many of the recommendations and was adamant clean-up costs should not be passed on to communities.
“Our people and the communities they live in, our rivers, land and beaches, should not have to bear the physical and financial costs of an industry which is 70 per cent overseas-owned,” she said.
National Party forestry spokesman Joseph Mooney said a taskforce would be “worth looking into” and would support “limits on clear-felling in at-risk areas”, however, he said formulating those limits and identifying those at-risk areas would require further discussion.
