Better design needed on forestry hills - Warren Parker

The head of a ministerial advisory group on forestry has cautioned against blaming forestry companies too quickly for damage caused by slash in Tolaga Bay. Slash is the byproduct of tree felling and farmers are demanding $100 million in compensation after tonnes of it washed down from forestry plots - blocking rivers and damaging farms after heavy rain. Forestry Minister Shane Jones told Morning Report he'd assembled a group of "the best thinkers" to advise him on the issue. Earlier this morning Warren Parker, who heads the group, told me much of the East Coast forestry was planted in the wake of Cyclone Bola in 1988 when hillsides collapsed causing disastrous damage.