People in Hawke’s Bay dealing with damage from forestry slash will have no answers after the Government failed to include most of the area in its inquiry, says National’s Tukituki candidate Catherine Wedd.

“It’s a slap in Hawke’s Bay’s face to know we won’t get answers through the Government’s inquiry into forestry slash,” says Ms Wedd.

“National is launching a petition to have Hawke’s Bay included in the forestry slash inquiry. Pockets of our region are unrecognisable and the compounding role slash played in this destruction cannot be ignored.

“I’ve been meeting families whose homes and livelihoods have been destroyed by slash. One family I met was on the roof of their house during the floods with slash coming at them from all directions, devastating anything in its path. Families like them deserve answers for how this could happen and how it can be stopped from happening again.

National’s Napier candidate Katie Nimon has been working on the Civil Defence response since Cyclone Gabrielle hit and has also seen firsthand the effect of forestry slash.

“How the Government can look at what’s happened in Eskdale, Puketapu, Dartmoor and Fernhill and fail to see why they should be included in this inquiry is beyond belief,” says Ms Nimon.

“There are serious questions to be asked about forestry slash and the devastation it’s caused, but most of Hawke’s Bay won’t have the opportunity to have those questions answered unless this inquiry is expanded.

“What’s the point of Hawke’s Bay’s two Labour MPs, one of whom is the Forestry Minister, if they can’t get their own Government to listen to the people in our region whose lives have been upended by forestry slash? The Government must expand the inquiry to cover all of Hawke’s Bay.”

National’s Forestry Spokesperson Joseph Mooney says National supports an urgent inquiry, but there is no reason why it should not include all of Hawke’s Bay.

“Forestry supports jobs across the East Coast and Hawke’s Bay and it’s an important contributor to regional economies,” says Mr Mooney.

“National welcomes this inquiry but it’s clear to anyone who has stepped foot in Hawke’s Bay since the floods that the whole region must be included. The inquiry should be expanded to Hawke’s Bay to properly investigate how much of this woody debris is forestry slash.

“Since Labour was elected, two reviews have warned about the risks of forestry slash but Forestry Minister Stuart Nash hasn’t announced any action. Now he’s ignoring his own electorate by excluding it from getting answers.”

Find National’s petition to include all of Hawke’s Bay in the forestry slash inquiry at national.org.nz/HBSlash.

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