Seymour ‘implores’ Gisborne council to go easy on forestry companies

Monday, 6 July 2026

Summit Forests and directors were issued with a draft enforcement order over the state of a forest on the East Coast.

The company’s managing director contacted David Seymour, who sent a letter to the council “imploring” it not to use “blunt force enforcement tools”.

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz told Seymour the order was necessary as it was only when directors were held personally liable that any material difference was made.

Minister for Regulation David Seymour has “implored” Gisborne District Council to ease up on forcing forestry companies to manage their forestry slash and woody debris.

In a letter to the council dated May 14, Seymour said he had been contacted by a forestry company, which had concerns after it was issued a draft enforcement order by the council.

The company, Summit Forests, is one of the largest forestry companies in New Zealand. It is a subsidiary of Japanese company Sumitomo Corporation, with around 50,000ha of forestry around the North Island.

The company and directors were issued draft enforcement orders in March in relation to the condition of a forest it owned on hills near Te Araroa, which was badly hit by a storm in January.

A draft order invites feedback and provides guidance on steps that must be taken. A final enforcement order may follow.

After the order was issued, Summit’s managing director, Kenji Okawa, wrote to Seymour complaining about the council’s approach to enforcement.

Okawa was particularly concerned about the council’s approach of charging directors personally as well as their companies.

The council this week won a High Court appeal that upheld an Environment Court ruling that found directors of another forestry company should be personally liable for cleaning up a mess left on hills in the region.

Okawa wrote that “the prospect of directors being personally joined to enforcement orders significantly increases perceived regulatory risk, particularly for long-term, capital-intensive investments such as forestry”.

“Using expansive draft enforcement orders - particularly those that join directors personally - as a first instance response poses risks for investment and constraining regional development at a time when confidence and long term capital are critical,” he wrote.

Woody debris and slash has become a major point of contention for the region following 2023’s deadly Cyclone Gabrielle.

A Ministerial Inquiry into land use and the impact of slash undertaken in the aftermath of the storm was damning.

It found the forest industry had “lost its social licence” in the region “due to a culture of poor practices”. It also took aim at the Gisborne District Council for “capitulation to the permissiveness of the regulatory regime” and a lack of monitoring and compliance.

It found both the forestry companies and council actions had “put the health and safety of people and their environment at risk”.

Since then, there has been significant debate about the liability of companies in managing slash and the economic tradeoffs involved.

In Seymour’s letter to the council, he outlined Okawa’s concerns and wrote: “I would like to remind you that the government’s objective is for New Zealand to welcome those wanting to invest capital here if there is no risk to national security”.

“An international perception of regulatory uncertainty, or that regulators will use blunt force enforcement tools, compromises this strategy by discouraging investment,” wrote Seymour, who signed the letter as Minister for Regulation.

He told the council the Resource Management Act’s replacement would “provide further certainty once in place”.

“In the meantime, I would implore you to keep the country’s future prosperity in mind when considering the deployment of blunt force enforcement tools against companies doing business here,” he wrote.

Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz replied to Seymour’s letter the following day.

She told him she had responded to similar concerns expressed by Mark Patterson, Minister for Rural Communities, and Todd McClay, Minister of Forestry. Both had contacted her about the council’s actions regarding Summit Forests.

Stoltz told Seymour that the issue of slash and woody debris had attracted significant attention in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne, where severe weather events had mobilised woody debris and sediment, resulting in serious harm and death.

“The Council’s approach, including the potential inclusion of directors in enforcement action, reflects the reality of forestry ownership and operational structures,” she wrote.

“To be frank, it was not until directors began being included within enforcement action that the Council observed any material improvements in forestry management practices in some parts of the district.”

Manu Caddie, spokesman for environmental group Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti, said “environmental accountability is not regulatory uncertainty”.

“Communities, businesses and investors all benefit when the law is applied consistently and those responsible for environmental harm are held accountable,” Caddie said.

“The council’s own experience is telling: it has only been since directors were joined to enforcement proceedings that forestry management materially improved. That suggests director accountability is working exactly as Parliament intended,” he said.

“The greatest threat to investment confidence and certainty is a system where environmental laws are negotiable and the costs of failure are shifted onto communities and taxpayers,” Caddie said.

Seymour told Stuff: “My letter was designed to pass on feedback that the directors of the company felt they were making every effort to comply and were surprised to receive a Notice naming them personally.

“I hope my passing on that feedback will be helpful to the Council as they seek to perform their important role as a regulator while fostering investment, jobs, and growth in the region,” he said.

Okawa did not respond to a request for comment.

The council did not wish to make any further comment.

The first time the council included directors in an enforcement order relating to forestry issues was in 2023. It involved the China Forestry Group New Zealand Company Ltd and director Yuxia Sun in 2023.

Since then, council has obtained enforcement orders that included directors in four other forestry cases.