Forestry backlog hurting East Coast
The fallout from coronavirus is hitting jobs on the East Coast and Gisborne. Reporter George Heagney asks how people are faring.
The axe fell on Ondre Te Hau’s job four weeks ago, after his team was reduced from seven people to two. The Tokomaru Bay man was a machine operator and truck driver for a roading team build- ing roads for forestry crews. But work dried up when coronavirus decimated logging exports.
Te Hau has since found work in Gisborne, but he’s heard of people leaving the region for work or thinking of moving to Australia.
Forestry is an industry intertwined with the lives of many people in Gisborne and the East Coast and right now families and business are bearing the brunt of the slowdown in logging exports because of coronavirus. Statistics New Zealand data shows forestry exports during the past month were down to $184 million from $245m a year ago. Logging is big in the region – 3 million tonnes are shipped out of Gisborne’s Eastland Port every year and one in four families in the region are involved in forestry.
The hit to exports will affect the whole region, from pie shops to diesel mechanics. Forestry workers have been let go or put on reduced hours and logging trucks are running fewer loads.
Te Hau said the industry employed a lot of young people without the life experience to deal with what they were facing.
‘‘They’re trying to figure out where the next dollar is going to come from with the skills they have in this industry. I feel for them and hopefully they’re getting that help they need and hopefully they’re wanting that help.
‘‘On the coast, we’ve always been proud people and sometimes the pride may get in the way as to what needs to take place.’’
He believed the situation would get worse and hoped the Gisborne District Council or Government would do something to help provide jobs because work options were minimal other than forestry, fishing or farming.
His family is being supported by wha¯nau and he said banks were understanding, but that would only go on for so long.
‘‘When any family is faced with financial strain it is going to test their relationships ... I wouldn’t want to wish it, but on the East Coast they’ve always been survivors, they have always done it hard.’’
But being a close knit community meant no one was immune. ‘‘All the families in the whole district are all connected to all those businesses, so it will affect everything.’’
Blackstump Logging director Wayne McEwan runs a cable harvesting operation near Tolaga Bay and his business was feeling the effect due to an oversupply of logs.
‘‘We’ve downsized our cut to 60 or 70 per cent of our target, but the reality is no-one knows what will happen.’’
He reluctantly let a couple of workers go, while other staff have been offered other work.
‘‘It’s quite stressful just trying to battle through it. Hopefully by November [things will return to normal] but it sounds like it’s going to be around for a while.’’
Since things took a turn for the worse, wellness centres have been set up in Gisborne and along the coast.
Hine Wharehinga of Horouta Wha¯nau Ora helps run one at Tolaga Bay, which many people had used and she expected patrons to increase.
‘‘It’s going to get worse before it gets better because of the wave of impact. We’ve got dads, brothers, uncles, grandfathers that don’t know what to do because they have never had to talk about their situation being ripped out from under them.
‘‘They feel inadequate and all those other social things kick in – depression, those other things. We’re connecting all our wha¯ nau to different things whether that be counselling, getting them on a benefit, anything that is going to help them.’’ forestry worker
She said supplying food was a big thing, especially for large families, and help to pay immediate bills.
Truck driver Reece Wanoa usually takes two loads down State Highway 35 to Gisborne a day, one from Te Araroa and one from Te Puia Springs.
He said while some drivers were still doing two loads a day, many were doing one. His hours had dropped, but he said his boss had guaranteed drivers’ wages and given them some food.
Shane Biddle is a forestry worker south of Gisborne and he said it had been quiet but he still had work.
‘‘It’s going to be a bit of a worry for everyone; it’s a big thing. A lot of the people around Gisborne, a lot of families rely on the industry.’’
He had a farm job as a backup and knew people who had looked at other jobs. Biddle takes part in a weekly health camp for forestry workers and has joined another new wellness group, which are both run by Wade Brunt.
Brunt worked on a logging crew for 18 years, but now works
for Safetree supporting forestry staff. His new wellness centre involves exercise, talking and connecting people with support services.
The region’s industry leaders have called on central Government for support and on Wednesday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the benefit stand down period would be removed for people who have lost their jobs because of coronavirus.
Economic development minister Phil Twyford also trumpeted the Government putting $4m into a regional business partner scheme to help with business advice for Taira¯ whiti and the rest of the country.
Eastland Port is the second biggest port in the country for log exports behind Tauranga, exporting
3 million tonnes a year, but chief operating officer Andrew Gaddum expected a drop.
‘‘At the moment for February we’re probably 20 per cent down on our normal export volumes and going forward into March our shipping is looking like it’s probably back between 30 and 40 per cent at this stage.
‘‘So there is a significant hole in what we would see in our shipping schedule at this time of year.’’
Squash, kiwifruit and cruise ships also go through the port, but logs are its core business.
Gaddum said ship bookings were at 60 per cent for this time of month and the 500 trucks coming in each day would decrease.
‘‘It looks like it’s going to have a reasonably significant impact on our business and the whole supply chain, harvesters, truckers, diesel mechanics, you name it, it’s looking like it’s going to have a big impact.’’
Eastland Wood Council chief executive Kim Holland had asked the Government for support because the region doesn’t have the resources. ‘‘We’ve got to be prepared to hunker down in the next couple of months and be ready to get going again when things change because we will still need our skilled, experienced people.’’
‘‘It’s going to be a bit of a worry for everyone . . . a lot of families rely on the industry.’’ Shane Biddle