Log prices have leapt up and Michael Woodhouse hopes they won't tempt "the cowboys" back into forest harvesting.
The National list MP and minister for Workplace Relations and Safety was in Whanganui last month, sitting around a table with six representatives from the forestry industry. He also visited Imlay and Belverdale Hospital and met with Federated Farmers and Whanganui's Community Patrol.
Log prices have increased by $20, a leap equivalent to an extra $1 for every kilo of milksolids. Last time they were up was "a horrible year" for the industry - it was 2013, and 13 people were killed in forestry accidents.
The high prices tempted "cowboys" into the harvesting business, one contractor at the meeting said. Another reported one person had been killed in his business in 2012, and he had carried four others out of the bush when working for previous companies.
"It's not easy, and it has a profound effect on the business and the wider community."