During the storm heavy rain forced piles of wood onto farmland. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Victims who experienced an onslaught of water through their homes and farms four years ago in a huge Tairāwhiti storm have spoken of their grief and anger at a forestry company that acted like "cowboys".
Ernslaw One Limited, one of New Zealand's biggest forestry companies, was sentenced on Friday for its part in widespread damage to homes, farms and infrastructure near Tolaga Bay on a storm at Queen's Birthday weekend in 2018.
At the Gisborne District Court, Judge Brian Dwyer sentenced Ernslaw One to pay a $225,000 fine to Gisborne District Council and a total of $130,000 in emotional harm reparations to several victims.
Judge Dwyer spoke of the "futility" and "high degree of failure" by the company and its lack of effort to make amends and help the victims.
It is the last of five companies the Gisborne District Council has charged over the storm.
The rain
On 3-4 June 2018, a severe storm near Tolaga Bay caused widespread damage.
A farming couple, a husband and wife, spoke at court, reading highly charged emotional victim impact statements.
The man began reading his statement before he broke down and let his wife read the rest. His wife said she had never seen him so upset.
"It was about half past six and still dark. I opened the curtains and I saw a very dirty river covering our paddocks," the man began.
Once he ran down the hall, he found the area around their fridge and freezer was completely flooded.
He described it as "a huge explosion of water" and said his family were left "numb, wet and dumbfounded".
"The speed of the water was frightening as it rushed through the farm.
"We remained in the dark for days, wondering why it had happened. No company ever approached us. We were left to fend for ourselves.
"Our roadways were unusable, our homes were inundated, our garden we loved so much was wrecked.
"We just couldn't take it, we cried and we still do, our beautiful farm was wrecked by some unusual force."
Ernslaw representatives eventually visited the farm but the couple called it "deaf, blind and dumb".
A week after the meeting, Ernslaw said it was not to blame.
The couple finally received an apology on Thursday, saying it was "too little, too late".
The forest
Ernslaw One's principal shareholder is Oregon Group Limited, a New Zealand registered company with origins in Malaysia.
Oregon is an investment company headed by the Tiong family. The Tiongs are believed to be the second biggest private land owners in New Zealand.
In 2013, Ernslaw got resource consent from the Gisborne District Council to plant a forestry block near Tolaga Bay.
But it did not follow the consent conditions - as the council found out after the huge 2018 storm.
The Queen's Birthday storm caused 47,000 cubic metres of woody debris to flow down the rivers and on to the beach at Tolaga Bay.
Some of the debris on Tolaga Bay beach in June 2018. Photo: RNZ / Emma Hatton
An estimated 400,000 cu m of woody debris was plastered through the Uawa catchment.
The flow of debris damaged farms and houses and blocked bridges and roads.
Ernslaw's forest was extensively damaged and debris flowed down from the slopes, covering flood plain areas, stream channels and riparian areas.
On 17-18 June, council officers inspected Uawa Forest and found there were multiple breaches in its consents. The council believed there were signs of "poor forestry practice".
Some of the forestry slash at Uawa Forest. Photo: Supplied / Gisborne District Council / Dr Murray Cave
In December, the council wanted to get an ecologist to assess the effects of the offending in the forest, but Ernslaw refused.
The council had to get a search warrant and found high levels of sediment and degradation of the stream habitats.
Forestry debris and logs from the forest had washed up over multiple farms.
Ernslaw representatives declined to be interviewed by council officers about the compliance issues.
Woody debris builds up at the Wigan bridge during the 2018 storm. Photo: Supplied / Gisborne District Council / Dr Murray Cave
The couple whose farm was damaged said Ernslaw One acted with impunity.
"You had a responsibility to look after that .... but you ignored that because you did not care. Your company failed to take corrective action, despite the obvious, you acted like cowboys.
"Our reputation and standing in the community has been damaged to the point that an anonymous tip was made to our insurance broker, claiming it was fraudulent.
"It is nothing short of a miracle that we are not dealing with a high death toll from this event.... the following day, 24 hours later, a school bus - forestry workers, families, would have been driving into that tsunami.
"Family and staff would've been out on the farm. Ernslaw, you are bloody lucky this carnage took place on a public holiday."
The company
No one from Ernslaw One was available for an interview after the sentencing.
But in a statement, its chief executive Darren Mann said the company "regret the part we played in causing damage to our neighbours and the wider community".
"We accept that we had failings in our operational procedures and could have done a lot better. Following the storm, we undertook significant remedial works and in the months and years since, have taken important learnings on board.
"As an organisation, we are committed to ensuring best practice in our care of the land both now and into the future."
Judge Dwyer hoped members of the forestry industry would not be required to return to the courtroom for the same problem in the future.
