At 8.30am tomorrow (Thursday 26 January) supporters of the petition with nearly 8,500 signatures will be presented to a full meeting of Gisborne District Council.
If you can't attend in person, you can tune in via YouTube from 9am to watch our presentation and see councillors debate this paper prepared by GDC staff in response to the requests you have made in the petition.
Gisborne District Council, central government and the forestry industry have all committed to supporting an independent Public Inquiry into the situation.
It seems there is real traction this time because people like you have taken action to send a message that the status quo is no longer an option.
What we need to ensure now is that the Terms of Reference are not set by those with responsibility for the problems being looked at. We need residents to be represented on the inquiry and truly independent experts to determine the scope and process of inquiry. We have been in touch with the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment to ask for his involvement with the inquiry and we suggest GDC requests the Minister for the Environment initiates a Public Inquiry.
There are a number of long-term processes the petition requests Council prioritises to address the complex issues involved in the current situation - and staff have asked councillors for direction on these.
There are also a number of immediate actions that can be done to reduce the risk of slash ending up in waterways during future heavy rain events. We will be putting these to councillors tomorrow too.
Please continue sharing the petition - it would be great to get over 8,500 signatures by 9am tomorrow!
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