'The Crown has failed to act': Review calls for bigger Crown role in forestry

The Crown must take greater responsibility for Tairāwhiti’s forestry and land-use challenges, an independent review of Gisborne District Council’s regulatory environment has found.

In August, the council commissioned the review to assess whether its consenting and compliance standards were appropriate for the region’s environmental risks and workable for industry.

The review panel, chaired by Christopher Finlayson, KC, with Dr Marie Doole and Vanessa Eparaima, examined seven resource consents, five compliance cases and interviewed more than 100 people.

The panel found the council’s regulatory approach had evolved in recent years and its decisions were appropriate to the downstream and high erosion risks.

However, it acknowledged the council had previously “expended little effort on monitoring and enforcement” before changing its approach in 2017.

That lack of oversight had contributed to poor practices, historic non-compliance and resistance to regulatory scrutiny, the panel found.

Consent applications examined were processed within or near statutory timeframes, with time spent obtaining site-specific information, refining proposals and resolving conditions.

Enforcement had followed legal advice, and there was clear legal ability to include directors in orders if the court considered their involvement resulted in the enforcement proceedings.

“Naming directors must be for good reasons and not to punish people.”

The panel found no evidence that anti-forestry sentiment was driving council decisions or pushing companies away.

However, an “ill-advised” April 2026 council job advertisement focusing on “scrutiny” of the industry prompted a “justified complaint” from Eastland Wood Council and the New Zealand Forest Owners Association.

The review recommended clearer compliance expectations, stronger forestry expertise within council and better co-ordination between consenting and compliance teams.

Increased pre-work meetings, written guidance and adequate resources would help consent holders understand requirements before inspections.

The panel recommended consent processes address potential slash discharges during and outside harvesting, supported by modelling, mitigation plans and clear responses to extreme weather.

The panel noted the announcement of funding for slash management pilots, which would provide useful insights.

Further work by council and industry was needed to improve their processes.

Incomplete or changing applications had contributed to delays. The panel questioned the council’s practice of accepting poor-quality applications rather than rejecting them for resubmission.

Forestry companies were urged to improve their skills in high-risk operations, submit better applications and share expertise.

Open-gate days, similar to those used in agriculture, were recommended.

However, the panel said local improvements alone would not resolve Tairāwhiti’s long-standing land-use problems.

With large forest areas planted after Cyclone Bola approaching harvest, it called for a co-ordinated transition involving the council, forestry companies, landowners, iwi, communities and central government.

The Crown’s historic involvement in forestry development and ministerial involvement in reports dating back to 1963 meant it could not expect local organisations to resolve the challenges independently.

“One gains the impression that enquiries were commissioned, reports were published, and then the Crown has failed to act on them.”

The panel said the recent appointment of facilitator Doug Leeder did not go far enough.

The Crown was urged to address issues within its control, including overseas investment, Emissions Trading Scheme liabilities, Department of Conservation involvement and the future management of Crown forestry licences.

The review supported industry concerns about the tenure, responsibilities and future management of Crown forestry licences, and ensuring the arrangements aligned with wider land use transition.

The review also warned current settings would struggle to manage the expected volume of harvest applications for forests planted after Cyclone Bola.

Forestry Minister Todd McClay said Ministry of Primary Industries officials would provide advice on the review’s findings.

“The Government and council continue to work constructively together to support local jobs dependent upon the forestry industry.

“We recently provided $600,000 to build capacity in the council’s forestry harvest consenting process and reallocated $16.4m to the Tairāwhiti Transition Advisory Group to develop long-term solutions to slash and woody debris.”

Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher-Swann said the review assured the council that the fundamentals of its regulatory environment were reasonable.

“Our aim is to make the system easier to understand and work with, while maintaining the environmental protections this region needs.”

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said forestry remained important to the regional economy, but the council, industry and central government all had work to do.

She called for national settings capable of responding to risk, supporting good forestry practice and land use transition.

“This is not about shifting responsibility. Council has work to do, the industry has work to do, and we need central government alongside us to address the issues that cannot be resolved locally.”

Eastland Wood Council chairman Julian Kohn said the review made clear the region needed planning for the substantial harvesting ahead and where land use needed to change.

“Tairāwhiti needs around 4000 hectares of consented harvesting each year just to sustain today’s reduced activity.

“We can’t afford to lose more skilled workers, contractors and businesses while decisions about the region’s future are being made.”

New Zealand Forest Owners Association chief executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg said she acknowledged work was needed on consenting applications. She wanted to see the consenting timeframe, requirement and communication recommendations addressed.

Heeg supported Leeder’s efforts to bring parties together but noted the Crown’s historic involvement in forestry in the region.

“Recent Government funding for consenting, woody debris removal and land-use transition is welcome, but the Crown needs to help fund and support a longer-term solution.”

She said work across parties was needed to address future harvesting, legacy wood debris and land-use transition.

Manu Caddie, spokesman for community advocacy group Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti, welcomed the review findings and called on the Government to reconsider its rejection of Plan Change 7, which aimed to support land-use transition in erosion-prone areas.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.