9. Question No. 9—EnvironmentJOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland) to the Minister for the EnvironmentQuestion No. 9—Environment9. JOSEPH MOONEY (National—Southland) to the Minister for the Environment: Why was the majority of Hawke's Bay excluded from the ministerial inquiry into forestry slash and land use which was announced following Cyclone Gabrielle?Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister for the Environment): The inquiry is into the slash and other woody debris/sediment issues in the Tai Rāwhiti Gisborne and Wairoa districts. The issues are different in those districts. Tai Rāwhiti is very steep and highly erodible—about 25 percent of the North Island's most severely eroding land is found in this district. Steep hill country in that district accounts for 71 percent of the land and most of those problems do relate to pine forestry practices that go back to Cyclone Bola. The issues in most of the rest of the Hawke's Bay area are different. Many members have been there; they will have seen that the woody debris issues in and around Hastings are mainly as a consequence of the river banks having been eroded and the willows having been—Simeon Brown: Has the Minister been there?Hon DAVID PARKER: Yes I have; have you? The huge flood events that came down those rivers pulled out all of the willows. The willows then banked up against bridges; the stopbanks then broke. The willows and the floodwaters then cleaned up orchards shelter belts and those issues are very serious but they are different in nature to the mainly pine forest-related erosion in the Tai Rāwhiti and Wairoa areas.Joseph Mooney: Does he have concerns about the integrity of the ministerial inquiry in forestry slash and land use in light of one of the three ministerial inquiry panel members standing down yesterday acknowledging that he had compromised his independence on the same day as Stuart Nash one of the sponsoring Ministers for the inquiry was dismissed?Hon DAVID PARKER: Yes. Mr Bayfield made a mistake in being in—he was approached to help the Hawke's Bay Regional Council resolve a lot of the post-flood issues. He admits he unwisely entered into employment negotiations as to whether he would take that role. In the end he decided not to but in the meantime he had created the impression that his duties as a commissioner in the inquiry could have been brought into conflict. He rightly—under discussions with the chair of the inquiry the Hon Hekia Parata—thought that that was untenable to continue. As a consequence he stood down. In his place Mr Dave Brash is being appointed and he will complete the inquiry.Joseph Mooney: Did the Minister of Forestry declare any potential conflict of interest when the exclusion of the majority of Hawke's Bay from the ministerial inquiry was discussed in Cabinet?Hon DAVID PARKER: No but I can inform the House that the driver for the ambit of the inquiry being the Wairoa and Tai Rāwhiti districts was driven by me. There's also a written record of that because I personally wrote the draft terms of reference. Joseph Mooney: Would he consider it appropriate for sponsoring Ministers of a ministerial inquiry to have declared any potential conflicts of interest to the Cabinet Office?Hon DAVID PARKER: Yes but I'm not aware of there being anything untoward in that regard in this event. Joseph Mooney: Why did the Government's language about the inquiry change from initially talking about forestry slash and land use to simply referring to land use?Hon DAVID PARKER: I have the terms of reference in front of me and I will read out the first paragraph which says: The purpose of the Inquiry is to describe the history of land uses associated with the mobilisation of woody debris (including forestry slash) and sediment in the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District and Wairoa District and to make recommendations about the further work needed to address the land use impacts"—Hon David Bennett: He didn't even read the first paragraph.Hon DAVID PARKER: It's in the first paragraph; it's also repeated throughout. I'm happy to table the terms of reference if the member has not managed to read them yet."