3102 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for the Environment

3102 (2026). Hon Jo Luxton to the Minister for the Environment: How many, if any, of the 49 recommendations from the Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use in Tairāwhiti/Gisborne and Wairoa have been actively progressed since November 2023?

Hon Penny Simmonds: As reported to the Cabinet Economic Policy Committee in September 2024 (CAB-451 and ECO-24-MIN-0225 refer), actions in response to each of the 49 recommendations are underway, completed, or have had a decision to not progress as they are not on this Government’s work programme. Of those 49 actions, 40 have been closed or do not require further action or ministerial intervention as the workstream is now part of BAU. For work that is being actively progressed, I can only speak to projects that the Ministry for the Environment is involved in, which includes the review of national direction (National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management and National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry), and supporting Gisborne District Council with its plan change workstreams. The Cabinet Paper and associated documents are publicly available: https://environment.govt.nz/what-government-is-doing/cabinet-papers-and-regulatory-impact-statements/waste-and-resource-efficiency-work-programme/