Storms, Forestry Slash: Where Does Legal Responsibility Lie?

Storms, forestry slash: Where does legal responsibility lie?

Extreme weather may be the trigger for deadly and devastating slash, but the lines on who is responsible for prevention and clean-up are blurred.

Storms make forestry slash inevitable, so who's legally responsible?

When the rain stops in Tairāwhiti, the damage doesn’t. Because when the rain hits hard, it floods wood. Lots of it. On beaches, whole trees lie tangled like matchsticks. Rivers choke with debris. Bridges are smashed. Roads are closed. And communities are left staring at a costly and heartbreaking mess. The debris has a name – slash – the branches, logs, and waste left behind after commercial forestry harvesting. And now, it’s been revealed that …