Calls for government to stump up $359 million for forestry response

A cross-sector group concerned about the impact of forestry in Tai Rāwhiti is urging the government to stump up $359 million. The transition advisory group, known as TAG, was established in response to a ministerial inquiry, which labelled the problem an "environmental disaster", and is tasked with transitioning 100,000 hectares of land back into permanent bush to stabilise its most vulnerable slopes. Members include forestry owners, Māori landowners, farmers and experts from Gisborne District Council and Ministry for Primary Industries. Over 20 percent of Tai Rāwhiti is covered in pine trees, many were planted after Cyclone Bola in 1988 to help with erosion control as the region has the most slip-prone land in New Zealand. The region's steep hill country loses 55 million tonnes of topsoil every year and post-storm clean-ups (Cyclone Gabrielle and subsequent events) have exceeded $110 million in debris and sediment removal alone. It's estimated that without intervention, cumulative storm-related damages over the next 30 years could exceed $1 billion. It was so bad in 2023 after Cyclone Gabrielle and Hale that a ministerial inquiry into land use was launched, it found lives were put at risk, and said the time to fix this "environmental disaster" is running out. It recommended planting the worst areas back into native bush. In response, a TAG was set up and has identified up to 100,000 hectares of forestry and pastoral land that needs to be taken out of production and planted in permanent bush. The cost of transitioning this land was initially estimated to need $200m of government funding, however the figure has grown to nearly double that. "We're looking at $359m of Crown co-investment over the next 10 years and this is backed by our own regional, private, and also philanthropic funding that is already flowing into the region," Gisborne District Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said. "What our business case shows, though, is that for every $1 spent, we actually save $4 on the recovery. This programme is about avoiding more than $1 billion in future storm damage and recovery costs. "It is about ensuring that we're putting investment into preventative work rather than being the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, literally picking up large woody debris when the next event happens. "It's not an if, it's a when," she said. The business case sets out a 30-year plan to stabilise around 100,000 hectares of erosion-prone land. It includes a $20.5m early-start package to begin work in the most at risk-areas and proposes a $359m Crown investment over ten years, as well as regional and private contributions estimated at more than $240m. The group has sent the proposal to the prime minister and minister for Primary Industries. "We have had conversations with them, and we understand that we're in an incredibly tight economic times," Thatcher Swann said. However, she said the plan will save money in the long run. Photo: RNZ / Alexa Cook The group is urging the government to seriously consider the implications of what will happen if Tai Rāwhiti's current land use doesn't change. "Our region agrees that we do need to transition some of the most vulnerable land to permanent cover and we're ready to go. The plan's in place, our partnerships are strong, the momentum is real and we just need the Crown to come and back us." A spokesperson for Forestry Minister Todd McClay said that the case study has been received and will be evaluated as part of ongoing work in relation to sustainable land use. "Unfortunately the group's expectation of taxpayer support seems unrealistic, however no decisions have been made at this stage," they said. Government no 'white knight' for landowners Dan Jex-Blake farms in the Waingake Valley about 50 kilometres away from Gisborne and is part of the TAG. He's experienced the impacts of forestry slash on his land and is keen to see the problems with land use addressed. "We need to change the way our land is used in this region because the material damage caused to those downstream, certainly from forestry, is huge," he said. But he's realistic when it comes to government funding. "As a landowner I'm not thinking the government is going to be a white knight and come along and pay for everything," he said. However, the farmer told RNZ what will help is commercial opportunities to incentivise the changes. "That could put up an economically rationale and logical case for landowners to go 'that piece of land is not sustainable for long term farming or trees and there are options to get other income from it'. "If we don't do something it's an indictment on us as a generation ... the goal is aspirational but we need to get on and get going with it," he said. Photo: Supplied Farm consultant and chief executive of Tairawhiti Whenua Charitable Trust, Hilton Collier, is also in the TAG. "There's certainly a lot of ambition and a lot of hope for better...

Calls for government to stump up $359 million for forestry response

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