Source: Federated Farmers
With the resignation of Bill Bayfield and now the sacking of Stuart Nash there needs to be an urgent reset of the Ministerial inquiry into land use on the East Coast, Federated Farmers says.
“Forestry slash and other woody debris washed down in Cyclone Gabrielle caused major damage. Communities on the East Coast need to be given the respect they deserve after such a significant event,” Gisborne farmer and Feds Meat & Wool Chair Toby Williams says.
“Finding someone else to sit on the inquiry panel who has the level of experience and skills that Bill Bayfield brought to the table will be very difficult.”
The land use inquiry didn’t get underway until late February and its report is due April 30. Federated Farmers says this ridiculously short time frame needs to be extended so that the issues can be thoroughly considered and all relevant evidence can be collected and analysed. The panel then needs adequate time to consider the recommendations they will present back.
The Federation also argues that it’s sensible to include the Hawke’s Bay in the inquiry.
“It seems pointless to have this exercise as narrowly focused geographically as it is. Hawke’s Bay has been as badly affected as Tairawhiti and this government needs to show them some respect as well.
“Recommendations from the panel could be applicable, or at least have ramifications, for hill country areas all around New Zealand. We need to get it right, and this will take more time than has been allowed.”
Williams said the flooding and infrastructure destruction in Tairawhiti, Wairoa, Hawke’s Bay and other parts of the East Coast has been a disaster in waiting for many years.
“The solutions are not going to be simple or short. After Bola there were knee jerk reactions that in part led us to the disaster unfolded last month.
“If this government is serious about environmental, community safety and production outcomes, then the only thing left for them to do is to allow the inquiry panel a proper chance to do their job. We cannot afford to make the same mistakes that have been in the past by rushing a solution because it was politically expedient for a minister to do that.”
