A damaged bridge seen during a flight over Gisborne after Cyclone Gabrielle. Photo: East Coast MP Kiritapu Allan
The mayor of Gisborne wants reassurances her council will not lose its ability to apply strict rules to forestry on vulnerable land.
The Government has its eyes set on simplifying regulations around forestry.
It wants to repeal parts in the commercial forestry legislation which allow councils to make the rules more or less stringent when it comes to slash management and freshwater.
The proposed changes would likely be a positive move for the forestry sector, which has been vocal against the rules saying they have increased costs.
The Eastland Wood Council, which represents most of the forestry business in Tairāwhiti, has called the consent rules being applied by the Gisborne District Council impossible.
Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz says Tairāwhiti's eroding and vulnerable land needs stricter forestry rules.
The Forest Owners Association chief executive Dr Elizabeth Heeg says the standards put in place last year have brought uncertainty to the industry.
