Land inquiry failed to get to the truth

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

by Clive Bibby

I have never reacted to a Government-sponsored inquiry with as much sheer disappointment as l do the Hekia Parata-led review of land use in the Tairāwhiti and Wairoa regions.

In some ways l am a reluctant responder to a “review” (which is a more accurate description of this effort, and what former Forestry Minister Nash wanted) that had all the information it needed — including from important “ground zero” submissions, ie those whose farms were partially destroyed during the cyclone.

There is no question that Hekia Parata and her team tried to push the boundaries of the terms of reference for the inquiry in order to establish the truth about what actually happened, who or what was to blame and most important of all — what needs to be done in order to prevent a similar event every couple of years or so in the future.

However, having pre-warned in the columns of this newspaper the likely result of the panel not being brave enough to seek the truth, no matter what it takes (which is what a real government-initiated “inquiry”, like the Mahon inquiry into the Erebus disaster, would have done), it gives me no satisfaction in stating the failings of this report.

So, what can we take from the findings of this inquiry that suggest it is “incomplete” and as such, a black mark on all those involved in producing it.

For a start, in order to make constructive decisions about what needs to happen as we attempt to pull ourselves out of the mire (there is a more appropriate description but l will save the editor the trouble of replacing it), we need to prosecute those who were responsible in a way that forces them to change the way they do things. Fines with unintended consequences are not the answer.

It is rather ironic that of the three entities that must share responsibility for the carnage, it is the forestry industry that is the least culpable.

And even though the Mayor has understandably defended her council’s actions or inactions in this unfortunate saga, her protests would pale into insignificance if the main culprit (ie the Government) had been exposed and forced to clean up its own house before indirectly accusing other lesser authorities and participants of being the only ones to blame.

This commentary may seem out of kilter with the mainstream media, local farming representatives and of course the Government’s endorsement of the Inquiry findings. That is a pity because the only way we can move forward is by accepting the challenges of the future with a commitment from all parties (including the Government) to change the way we do things.

Foremost on the list of ill-advised policies that should be repealed is the Government’s obsession with its use of an unrestrained carbon economy to help it achieve its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets.

As l have said many times, those creditable targets can be achieved within the boundaries of a law limiting forestry plantings to classes 6 and 7 marginal hill country. It should be a matter of priority that the old law governing this issue is reinstated in order to restrict further plantings.