What progress, if any, has he made on progressing the Government response to the Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa, since November 2023?

Answer

The key actions within my forestry portfolio have been: • Progress on woody debris, sediment and waterways, including: removal of over 580,000 m3 of woody debris and the establishment of the Tairāwhiti Forestry Action Group to lead the planning and delivery for high-risk woody debris clean up in Tairāwhiti through the additional $27 million of funding provided in Budget 2024. • Proposing changes to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry that ensure high risk land has appropriate rules applied to it to address the higher levels of risk. • Ministry for Primary Industry has worked closely with the Gisborne District Council.