The Front Page podcast: Slash crisis - How did we allow the forestry sector to get away with this for so long?

Slash and forestry waste on the beach at Gisborne. Photo / Supplied

Images of forestry waste tearing through homes, destroying farmland and piling up on east coast beaches during recent storms have enraged the public.

The Government has announced that there will be a ministerial inquiry to work out if more could be done to keep forestry in check.

But in a country that prides itself on being a tidy Kiwi, how did things get to this stage in the first place?

“In New Zealand, we treat citizens differently to how we treat big business,” Dr Bryce Edwards, a lecturer in politics at Victoria University, tells The Front Page podcast.

“And forestry really is one of New Zealand’s bigger businesses, so they have a lot of power.”

Edwards says that while critics have expressed concern about this issue and called for regulation, it has been difficult to get the necessary changes across the line.

“The power of forestry is immense in New Zealand and Governments take the forestry business very seriously because they are a big contributor to our GDP and employment…. And there are a whole lot of avenues that business uses to try to get their own way in terms of public policy to stop their industries from being too regulated or from having too many taxes.”

Edwards says that the forestry sector has been quite successful at using the mechanisms in the public policy process, ranging from lobbying to giving political donations, to ensure regulation is kept at bay.

The academic says that forestry is a nearly $7 billion industry, which employs thousands of people across the regions – giving it enormous clout to continue functioning as it does.

“One in four people on the East Coast have some sort of employment relating to the forestry industry. And that’s something the forestry industry can leverage over decision-makers by saying: ‘If you make things difficult for us, we won’t be able to operate, we won’t be profitable and we may even shut down.’ Politicians are, therefore, vulnerable, especially in these areas. They are vulnerable to unemployment going up and to the economy tanking if these forestry companies aren’t operating there.”

So what can be done to change this? Will the ministerial inquiry make any difference? Is Stuart Nash the right person to run the Ministry of Forestry? And what will it take for forestry to win back its social licence?

Listen to the full episode of The Front Page podcast to hear Edwards elaborate on these issues and more.