increase font size
Rotorua forestry company and a Coromandel forestry contractor have been fined more than $50,000 in total for carrying out forest harvesting unlawfully at a remote Coromandel farm.
The case, brought by the Waikato Regional Council, related to a forestry harvest operation where earthworks were carried out without appropriate erosion and sediment controls between February and May 2011.
During the harvest, two steep gullies were left with forestry debris in circumstances where waterways could be blocked and one gully in particular was choked with soil and vegetation.
Professional Harvesting Systems of Rotorua was convicted and fined $29,400, while contractor James McCulloch was also convicted and fined $21,388, after both defendants pleaded guilty to a charge under the Resource Management Act.
The matter was heard in Hamilton District Court before Judge Melanie Harland.
The farm, on Colville Rd, straddles the divide between the west and east coasts of the Coromandel Peninsula, with Colville Bay to the west and Kennedy Bay to the east. Streams at the site all flow to Colville Bay, which is an area of significant conservation value in the Waikato Regional Coastal Plan.
"The concern with excess sediment in waterways is that it decreases habitat for aquatic life and can adversely affect plants, invertebrates and fish to the point that they will not survive," says council land and soil manager Grant Blackie.
"In this case the court has sent a clear message to all parties involved in woodlot harvesting that they must go about their activity in a responsible manner, particularly so in more sensitive areas like the Coromandel."
Berry supplier The Fresh Berry Company has rolled out a locally developed forecasting platform that will allow its growers to precisely plan planting and harvest times, to ensure fruit hits store shelves when consumers most want it.
OPINION: Harvest begins, and almost immediately we start to get media enquiries about how the vintage is going and whether it is going to be a good year for New Zealand wine.
Forest owners are urging people to vote for tōtara as plant of the year in a poll being conducted by the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network.
Forestry owners oppose the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s proposal to limit forestry offsets to agriculture.
A disease which is devastating trees in the Western United States and Europe is a major threat to New Zealand plantations and ornamental trees, should it ever arrive here.
On the eve of his departure from Federated Farmers board, Richard McIntyre is thanking farmers for their support and words of encouragement during his stint as a farmer advocate.
A project reducing strains and sprains on farm has won the Innovation category in the New Zealand Workplace Health and Safety Awards 2025.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
One of New Zealand's latest and largest agrivoltaics farm Te Herenga o Te Rā is delivering clean renewable energy while preserving the land's agricultural value for sheep grazing under the modules.
Global food company Nestle’s chair Paul Bulcke will step down at its next annual meeting in April 2026.
Brendan Attrill of Caiseal Trust in Taranaki has been announced as the 2025 National Ambassador for Sustainable Farming and Growing and recipient of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy at the National Sustainability Showcase at in Wellington this evening.
OPINION: ACT MP Mark Cameron isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he certainly calls it how he sees it, holding…
OPINION: Did former PM Jacinda Ardern get fawning reviews for her book?
