What does EWC do?

13 November 2024 

Eastland Wood Council – Te Kaunihera Pororākau o Te Tairāwhiti is an incorporated society which provides a collective voice for the forestry industry in the Gisborne and Wairoa District Council areas. 

We promote the social and economic benefits of forestry, and how important it is for the social stability of our region. It’s estimated one in five families are dependent on the industry for employment. 

In 2024, EWC membership is at an all-time high with 23 forestry companies (about 80 percent of the Nett Stocked Area) making up our voice. We all want to see a sustainable future in our region.   

Changes are being discussed at local and central government levels to forestry in Tairāwhiti, and it’s imperative EWC is at the table. Until these decisions are made higher up, there is uncertainty around the future of forestry here which has left the industry in survival mode. 

Eastland Wood Council is run by a Board of eight members, chaired by Julian Kohn who has more than 40 years’ experience in forestry. 

As chairman, Julian engages with senior council staff, politicians, business owners, the media and other wood councils on a regular basis to advocate for forestry and our region. 

As well as the Board, Julian is supported in his role by EWC manager Allysha Ah-Nau. 

The background 

In 2006, Eastland Wood Council (EWC) became an incorporated society and was the first wood council in the country to do so. 

This incorporation 18 years ago brought formality and structure after it had been operating for years before that as an informal group of forestry managers and a CEO. 

For more than 25 years, EWC has promoted and encouraged sustainable forestry practices, safety at work and economic development in our region on behalf of its members. We want to work with council and our community to achieve this. 

EWC has been negotiating with Gisborne District Council (GDC) for some years around consent terms and conditions to improve social, economic and environmental outcomes and improve our ability to operate in Tairāwhiti. The current ongoing market conditions have compounded the issues the industry is facing. 

However, in recent months, EWC has become even more heavily engaged with GDC around consent conditions and proposed land-use changes that would make some land in this district unavailable for commercial forestry. 

After the two cyclones of 2023, Hale and Gabrielle, GDC changed their approach to harvesting, roading management and regulations and it has become more restrictive with more proposed restrictions to come. 

“The consent conditions in our region are literally stopping some forest companies from harvesting their forestry blocks,” says Julian. 

“They are also significantly dissuading potential investors in either forestry or processing opportunities in our region. If we can get the regulatory environment right, those investors will return.  

“We have a wonderful resource here, and there is no reason why the community should not benefit from that resource. 

“Those investors have told us directly; they’re simply not interested in looking at Gisborne and Wairoa at the moment because of the consent timelines, costs and some of the conditions.” 

Julian says going forward he wants to keep talking with council, “to see how we can start improving the timelines for consents as well”. 

“At a higher level EWC has also been heavily engaged with central government for the past six to eight months to highlight the issues we’re having in Tairāwhiti. 

“Which to date have been successful.” 

“We all want the same thing, for our region to thrive and be sustainable for our future generations.” 

We want the community’s trust back 

“We’re also working to get the social licence back with our community. It’s been a tough few years after poor markets, the devastating impacts of extreme weather in this region and the visible effects of woody debris that have caused our community to lose trust in the forestry industry. 

“Building back trust means being more transparent around what we do, and this will help correct misinformation out there. We want to show our community what changes have been made because those who work in forestry love the environment and the outdoors too. 

“For our region to survive we have to get the balance right – environmentally, socially and economically.” 

EWC enlists the help of independent experts to assist the board with legal, environmental and communications advice. 

“We make sure we’re equipped with the best advice and have exceptional people working with us. 

“We want forestry to be part of the social infrastructure of our region again. To do this we have to address the issues with GDC that are affecting our ability to do business here. 

“We all want to achieve an environmental, social and economically sustainable region for our future generations.” 

Lobbying to Government 

Upcoming changes around the Resource Management Act (RMA) and the National Environment Standards – Commercial Forestry (NES-CF) have meant regular meetings with Ministers. 

Julian says the forestry industry is now waiting for the Government to release their draft paper on the RMA and NES-CF changes for discussion – “the devil will be in the detail”. 

The changes are expected to become law mid to late 2025, and EWC is at the table to represent the interests of the forestry sector in Tairāwhiti. 

“We’re very lucky we’re also talking with other iwi forest owners in Tairāwhiti. 

“Other iwi forest interests and landowners have coordinated with our lobbying to council and central government as well, and this is very helpful from our point of view. 

“We also ask any local business owners who’ve been directly affected by the recent downturn in forestry to contact council. 

“Forestry is in survival mode in this district, but the outlook has looked a little better in recent months.”  

 3B Land Overlay and targeted forestry rates 

The Tairāwhiti Action Group (TAG) has been created by GDC to address the upcoming processes around the proposed land-use changes in Tairāwhiti. 

3B Overlay will be land classified as the most erosion-prone and steepest land in the region that has a direct connection to a waterway. Council’s intent is for it not to be harvested and instead converted to permanent cover. 

There will need to be the opportunity for some of these areas to be replanted in species that will retain soil integrity in the long term while also allowing for limited harvesting to take place – albeit in different forms that are currently practiced. 

  

As yet, the percentage of this 3B Overlay owned by forestry companies is not known. This makes it hard for the forestry industry to make future decisions. 

There are also concerns about targeted rates on the forestry industry. 

After the June 2024 storm, a woody debris survey showed 52 percent of the wood on city beaches was radiata pine. 

EWC is asking GDC to reconsider charging forestry companies 70 percent of future clean up and legal costs through a targeted rate when almost half of the woody debris comes from other sources.  

 How important is forestry economically in Tairāwhiti 

Forestry, logging and wood product manufacturing accounts for 32 percent of tradeable GDP in Tairāwhiti. 

That means for all the goods produced in Tairāwhiti that leave this district – one third is from forestry. 

An Infometrics survey, requested by Trust Tairāwhiti, showed this region was underrepresented nationally for what happens after the logs have been harvested. 

There are only two mills here at present – one in Gisborne and one in Wairoa. Which means most logs leave here raw and unprocessed. 

The survey said if Tairāwhiti could grow its role in post-harvest production of its primary products, this would help to grow the size of the tradeable sector, as these products are highly tradeable. 

EWC milestones along the way 

In the early 2000s, EWC helped get training programmes up and running that were NZQA qualified so school leavers could be encouraged into the industry. 

Today, Tairāwhiti is still one of only three regions in New Zealand where you can study Forestry – at EIT Tairāwhiti campus and Tūranga Ararau. 

A Share the Road programme was also introduced in the early 2000s, which was a partnership that allowed log truck safety to be taught in schools. 

In the mid-2000s EWC was instrumental in $150million of government funding for bridge and infrastructure upgrades so logs could be physically logged in this region. The money was spent at $30 million a year over five years. 

EWC started the annual forestry awards ceremony and other wood councils have followed this model in subsequent years. 

EWC was also the first wood council in the country to initiate a health and safety policy – which was used and adapted in the forestry industry. 

EWC was also the first to introduce a drug testing policy, and co-ordinated testing throughout the members to help combat what used to be a major issue on contracting operations.