The Gisborne mayor says prosecutions are possible if debris found on beaches following the recent flooding can be traced to a breach of a resource consent.
Wairoa Mayor Craig Little.
Photo: RNZ / Tom Kitchin
But many people in Gisborne and Wairoa say the industry is damaging their pristine environment and ruining communities.
In Tolaga Bay, a small town of about 800 people nearly an hour north of Gisborne, one end of the beach near the famous wharf is almost clear and sandy, with only a touch of wood nearby.
But at the other end, piles of battered and bruised logs still sit.
Diggers are still beside the beach, with caution tape and keep out signs plastered around.
Instead of an easy route to the water s edge down here there are digger lines deep in the sand.
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