Tribe puts a stop on logging in state forest

A Maori tribe has blocked logging in a state-owned forest claiming the presence of sacred burial sites, which it cannot identify.

Crown Forestry has given up its legal battle to harvest pines on four blocks of the Waiuku State Forest on the northern banks of the Waikato River after losing an Environment Court appeal against a Waikato Regional Council decision not to allow logging because of Maori concerns.

Crown Forestry operations manager Warwick Foran said: "We won't appeal. The judge has ruled the effects on Maori are greater than the benefit of allowing harvesting."

He could not put a figure on what the harvesting would have been worth.

Ngati Te Ata told the Environment Court all four blocks over an area of 305ha were waahi tapu, or sacred, and it was not willing to identify particular sites.

During the hearing, Crown Forestry expressed frustration with the iwi's attempts to use the case to get action on a stalled Treaty claim.

Ngati Te Ata wanted $6300, or $150 an hour, to write a "Maori cultural values assessment" of the impact of logging and tried to call the Ministers of Maori Affairs and Treaty Negotiations as witnesses - something outside the court's jurisdiction.

Crown Forestry called the asking price for the cultural assessment report an attempt to "frustrate the resource consent process to force the pace on their Treaty claim".

Waikato Regional Council appeared against the Crown to defend its earlier decision, while Ngati Te Ata were a "section 274" party, meaning they had legal standing to give evidence and make submissions.

During the Waikato Regional council hearing, Nganeko Minhinnick, representing Ngati Te Ata, said the exact location of burial sites was unknown but she produced documents going back to 1856 showing the area designated waahi tapu.

She said in adjoining blocks in the forest Ngati Te Ata had identified specific sites and logging was done around them but it was not possible in this case.

The Crown argued that while logging would have some economic benefit and provide employment it would also have an environmental benefit by removing ageing trees vulnerable to "wind-throw and insect damage" and that, if left standing, posed a potential hazard to forest users.

Judge David Sheppard ruled the economic and environmental benefits from logging were "relatively slight" but the effect on Ngati Te Ata was "relatively considerable".

The court understood Ngati Te Ata's "concern is not only physical remains that may be disturbed but the intangible sense of affront at disturbance of soil where their ancestors were buried".

Harvesting the forest would fail to recognise "iwi's relationship with waahi tapu".