Questions that Coast farmers want answered

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

Farmers and other rural residents want major questions answered in the wake of the severe forestry debris damage caused in the torrential rain in the Tolaga Bay and Whangara district last weekend.

Tolaga Bay farmer Bruce Jefferd has farmed three kilometres north of Tolaga Bay for 36 years.

“The damage caused by the slash and log debris has got everyone in our area majorly upset, and they want answers on how it could have happened like this. They also want answers because of the high cost of cleaning it up.”

Beaches, bridges, roads and farms have taken a major hit.

Mr Jefferd said his property got off lightly but he knew people who had been hit really hard.

“Farmers can cope with silt from floodin, but coping with the huge amount of slash material that has come down is a different story.

“I am concerned that the volume of slash has not come just from skid sites. A forest contractor told me yesterday they now keep their skid sites really clean. The same contractor was suggesting that a lot of the debris has come off steep hillsides that have been logged,” Mr Jefferd said. “So, if the skid sites are not the only cause of the problem, then the whole harvesting process needs looking at.

“Also, if forestry is so good at reducing erosion and is the environmentally-sustainable option it is cracked up to be, how is it that the Uawa River still carries the same amount of silt it always did?

“We have had pine trees growing in the hinterland here for 25 years and even in medium-scale rainfall events the river still carries all this silt. Why does it still silt up the way it does?

“The other big question relates to enforcement of the Resource Management Act as it applies to forestry operations,” Mr Jefferd said.

“How proactive has Gisborne District Council been when it comes to enforcing the act and supervising what’s actually happening in the forests when it comes to slash control? More vigilant supervision would surely mean tidier forestry operations, and events like we have seen this last week could have been much reduced.

“These are some of the questions thrown up by events since the weekend, and farmers and other rural residents want them answered.”