By Shannon Pitman, Open Justice reporter of 
Ernslaw One was prosecuted for the damage caused to Tolaga Bay in 2018. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A Malaysian-born forestry giant, Ernslaw One, continues to remain at the centre of the storm after wreaking havoc on Te Tairāwhiti's fragile environment with forestry debris.
Despite being fined for the catastrophic destruction caused during the 2018 cyclones, the company is yet to fully rectify its forestry processes as ordered.
Now, it has left the Environment Court with no choice but to extend deadlines, further delaying peace of mind for a region heading into cyclone season.
Ernslaw, a dominant force in New Zealand's forestry industry, commands an empire of 100,000ha of forest, including vast holdings in Ūawa/Tolaga Bay and the West Ho forest within the Gisborne District.
The company is headed by the Oregon investment company owned by the Tiong family, who also own New Zealand King Salmon and The Neil Group.
Following a severe storm during Queen's Birthday weekend in June 2018, substantial environmental damage occurred with sediment, slash and logging debris from the Ūawa Forest entering water bodies, streams, rivers and ultimately Tolaga Bay.
Taloga Bay, heavy rain forced piles of wood onto farmland. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Around 47,000 cubic metres of woody debris washed up on Tolaga Bay with an estimated 4000,000 cubic metres left through the Ūawa catchment.
The Gisborne District Court charged Ernslaw with a breach of the Resource Management Act 1991 and in 2022 they were fined $225,000 and ordered to pay $130,000 reparation to locally affected families.
In August last year, the Environment Court imposed enforcement on Ernslaw, Timbergrow and Chiong Yong Tiong to comply with a number of orders specifically in the West Ho Forest of Tolaga Bay.
The conditions set by the Environment Court had a deadline of December 2024, however when the Gisborne District Council conducted a site visit in November, it noted areas of the forest remained non-compliant and still had high-risk issues.
The council told the Environment Court that although some work had been done, the work was "piecemeal" and representatives for Ernslaw who also attended the site visit expressed surprise at the minimalist nature of the works completed.
The council found woody debris remained at a number of locations, waste logging material had not been pulled back from skid sites (generally the side of hills) and water controls were inadequate.
When the respondents advised the council the orders would not be complied with by December, they proposed no optional dates, forcing the council to apply for extensions due to the lack of compliance.
The council also raised throughout the remediation period that the group had no director, manager or employee taking responsibility for overseeing the project, making it difficult to gain any feedback.
The respondents acknowledged they had not fully complied but said the work that had been implemented had significantly improved West Ho Forest over time.
Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti (MTT) submitted to the court that every additional day granted to the organisations to rectify issues posed additional risk with disastrous consequences.
MTT said as long as the work remains incomplete, "the burden of fear weighs heavy on the communities".
Chief Environment Court Judge David Kirkpatrick made an extension of the order relating to the West Ho Forest for a number of compliance targets to be met the end of August.
Judge Kirkpatrick directed all slash and waste logging at the edge of skid sites be removed by February 14. Water controls to eliminate risk of erosion must be completed by February 28.
Ernslaw chief executive Darren Munn has since been assigned as fulfilling the monitoring role until the works in the order are complete.
* This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.
