Gisborne District Council has won multiple legal cases against forestry companies this year. However, environmentalist group Mana Taiao Tai Rāwhiti spokesman Manu Caddie (pictured) questions whether it is insurance companies that pay the penalty fines after the government's recent repeal of an environment Act. Photo: Emma Hatton / RNZ / Manu Caddie / LDR
Gisborne District Council has celebrated multiple legal wins this year against forestry companies, but environmentalists are questioning who is paying the fines.
The remarks come after a recent law change, which means insurance companies can again pay court fines if forestry companies are found at fault, rather than the company itself.
Severe weather in Tai Rāwhiti in recent years has left woody debris and forestry slash across beaches and waterways.
Environment Court Judge David Kirkpatrick recently released a decision after a hearing held in Gisborne in early May.
The council successfully prosecuted two forestry companies operating in Waingaromia Forest - Samnic Forest Management Ltd (fined $91,000) and Forest Management Solutions Ltd (fined $35,000).
They were fined for discharging contaminants where they could enter waterways, and carrying out unlawful earthworks, which included constructing a 400m road on erosion-prone land without the required resource consent.
Mana Taiao Tai Rāwhiti (MTT) spokesman Manu Caddie questioned whether the forestry companies would feel the sting of the fines or if their insurance companies would cover the costs.
Companies can buy insurance to cover fines imposed by a court, but it is not known whether the forestry companies had this type of cover.
MTT is the environmental group behind a petition signed by 10,000 people, which sparked a ministerial inquiry into land use.
Insurance companies will end up paying the fines of forestry companies prosecuted by the Gisborne District Council for discharging contaminants and unlawful earthworks, Caddie said in a letter to the editor of the Gisborne Herald.
"Another casualty of reckless repeal under the current government is the loss of this incentive for companies to protect rather than pollute the environment.
"Allowing entities to insure against penalties radically undermines the deterrent effect of environmental law," he said.
The coalition government repealed the Natural and Built Environment Act in 2023.
The legislation, brought in by the previous government, prohibited insurance companies from paying fines, infringement fees, or pecuniary penalties on behalf of companies.
Forest Management Solutions Ltd did not respond when asked who would pay the fines.
The Herald attempted to contact Samnic Forest Management Ltd through many sources but was unsuccessful.
Eastland Wood Council (EWC) chairman Julian Kohn said members had made significant operational improvements for several years and the transition was likely to take time to become obvious to the public.
EWC is a membership-based collective for the forestry sector in the Tai Rāwhiti region.
"The forestry legacy has been with us in this region since 1959, when the first plantings were established in the Wharerata," Kohn said.
"Given a forest cycle is normally 25-30 years, it may take that long to fully implement and realise those improvements.
"Council members are committed to an environmentally, economically and socially responsible environment for our community and to suggest otherwise is inaccurate and inappropriate.
"Any decision by member companies to insure or not against those potential liabilities is a commercial one for their boards, all of whom have varying degrees of exposure in that space," he said.
Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop said the government was aware of the problem.
"I am actively looking at increasing penalties for non-compliance with forest harvesting conditions," he said.
Gisborne District Council previously said that under the current system if they prosecuted a company, they did not cover their costs with the small amount that they were lawfully allowed to fine forestry companies.
Council chief executive Nedine Thatcher Swann said during a council meeting in June that for every $1million spent on legal and investigation fees "you may get $250,000 back".
Gisborne District Council is investigating ways to make forestry pay for the retribution of legal fees by introducing a levy.
However, this will not be implemented until the 2025/26 year.
It celebrated another court win when it took China Forestry Group NZ and Wood Marketing Services to the Environment Court in Auckland last month.
On 9 August, the court ordered China Forestry Group NZ and forestry management company Wood Marketing Services Ltd to stop discharging forestry slash and debris, clean up its waste on beaches and improve its operations in the Kānuka Forest in the Upper Waimata River catchment.
The order also included the retirement of part of the forest, where the owners are responsible for replanting and rejuvenating native plants and maintaining pest control of the land.
Meanwhile, the council is also seeking an enforcement order that would require Aratu Forests Ltd to remove forestry slash from steep land near Tolaga Bay.
China Forestry Group NZ, Wood Marketing Services did not respond for comment.
Aratu Forest Ltd said it did not wish to comment.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
