Ministerial Inquiry report into woody debris

The Ministerial Inquiry report into woody debris (including forestry slash) and sediment in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa has been presented to the Government.

The report covers a broad scope of issues including forestry slash and the actions and performance of the forestry industry, the economic and social impact on local communities and Whenua Maori and the regulatory environment (to name just a few).

Many strong recommendations have been made such as requiring forestry owners to contribute to clean up costs, revising the way sensitive areas of land are continued to be used for forestry (if at all) and revisiting the regulatory system.

These recommendations are likely to have broad reaching implications for those involved in the forestry industry by requiring much stricter controls on how forestry operations are commenced, conducted and cleaned up.  This coupled with the introduction of new legislation (currently the Natural and Built Environment Bill and the Spatial Planning Bill) to replace, in part, the RMA will have wide implications (such as greater duties and obligations) for forestry operators.  In turn it will also impact on the insurers of those operators particularly with respect to Directors and Officers and Statutory Liability cover.

 A copy of the Report can be found here

Bradley Alcorn is a special counsel at fee langstone