Chris Hipkins takes on forestry, before bad weather shuts down his Hawke’s Bay visit

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced a ministerial inquiry into slash, which has seen the forestry industry face intense backlash as Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne mop up the pieces from Cyclone Gabrielle.

Beaches and riverbanks have been littered with wood since last Tuesday’s ferocious event, and many communities in the east coast have laid the blame for swept-away bridges and infrastructure on the forestry industry’s leftovers.

The inquiry will be chaired by former National education minister and Gisborne-based MP Hekia Parata.

Hipkins told a media stand-up today “things have to change because slash on beaches, in rivers, on farms is unacceptable”.

The Prime Minister was due to travel to Wairoa on Thursday afternoon but heavy rain forced meant his flight lasted all of 10 minutes before that plan had to be abandoned.

Low cloud along the east coast meant the NH90 Hipkins was travelling had to be redirected to the Napier Airport shortly after takeoff from the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds.

PM Chris Hipkins leaves an NH90 that was forced to land at Napier Airport during his visit to Hawke’s Bay on Thursday. Photo / George Heard

Napier MP and Forestry Minister Stuart Nash said forestry had a “social licence” and the review would “make recommendations about how we can get this right.

“What we need to get right is the management practices of forestry on these highly erodible soils.”

He said the forest sector had done a lot of work in retiring certain forests, moving slash from skip sites, but the country had still seen a lot more wood coming onto the beaches.

Nash said he wanted the forestry industry to “take responsibility” for their actions regarding slash.

“Forestry companies know they operate under a social licence, and forestry and wood processing employs a lot of people up the east coast. You’ll never see a recommendation that another tree will be planted - that won’t happen.

“Keep in mind, in some areas forestry is actually the answer,” he said, noting specific tree planting could be helpful.

The two-month ministerial inquiry will be held into land use causing woody debris, including forestry slash, and sediment-related damage in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa.

It will investigate past and current land-use practices and the impact of woody debris including forestry slash and sediment on communities, livestock, buildings and the environment. It will also look at associated economic drivers and constraints.

The inquiry members are former government minister and Gisborne resident Hon Hekia Parata (Chair), former regional council chief executive Bill Bayfield and forestry engineer Matthew McCloy.

“Woody debris and sediment are particular issues for these communities following storms. More than 10,000 people in Tairāwhiti have petitioned for land use to be better managed. This inquiry is responding to these very real concerns,” Nash said.

The inquiry will investigate storm damage and its causes, current practices and regulatory and policy settings.

“The panel’s recommendations, expected by the end of April, will assist local and central government to respond to the severe weather events we are experiencing in New Zealand,’’ Environment Minister David Parker said.

The panel will make recommendations to improve land use including changes needed to practices and regulation at central and local government levels. This can include consideration of forestry practices, Resource Management Act plans and national direction - for example, the National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry and the Tairāwhiti and Wairoa District Resource Management Plans.

People in affected communities and the wider public will be invited to provide feedback to the panel.

David Parker said decisions on prosecutions are a matter for the local councils under the Resource Management Act.

In 2018 the Gisborne District Council showed it was prepared to take action, successfully prosecuting five forestry companies for poor forestry harvesting & management. Judge Dwyer at the time imposed fines ranging from $124,700 to $379,500.

Hipkins said he was intending to be in the region “regularly” to assess damage from Gabrielle.

He said a wage subsidy wouldn’t necessarily be the best support for cyclone-affected businesses.

Cabinet ministers met on Wednesday to discuss the terms of reference for the independent inquiry, which is expected to be completed within two months.

The inquiry will provide recommendations on how to tackle the issue in the short-term while broader land-use issues, as called for by thousands of East Coast locals in a petition, are expected to be covered as part of wider government reforms, including the Natural and Built Environments bill which will replace the Resource Management Act.

HIPKINS’ MESSAGE TO HAWKE’S BAY

Hipkins told Hawke’s Bay Today it was going to take the region “a while” for everyone to bounce back from Cyclone Gabrielle, but he was determined that lessons be learned from the Christchurch quake response.

“I understand how traumatic this has been.

“People have been put under a lot of pressure in many cases they just got the power back on, they just got the communications back on and it started to rain again.

“The rain is very unwelcome at this point, I acknowledge the extra pressure and that’s going to add.”

Key people involved in the Christchurch recovery would be used to guide Hawke’s Bay’s recovery, he said.

“We don’t want to repeat the same mistakes.

“In fact, we know how to do some things better now and so we want to make sure that we’re capturing those lessons.

He said the Government was committed to helping Hawke’s Bay councils with funding to rebuild infrastructure, and potentially funding for local roading in particular.