Development West Coast

Development West Coast has its origins in the controversy over logging native trees by Timberlands West Coast Limited, a former state-owned enterprise based on the West Coast. In the late 1990s, Timberlands' actions were supported by then-prime minister Jenny Shipley and opposed by environmental groups, led by Native Forest Action. The controversy became an election issue in the 1999 general election, with the Labour Party committing itself to stop logging. Investigative journalist Nicky Hager published a book, Secrets and Lies, just prior to the election, alleging that Timberlands had hired a public relations firm, Shandwick (now Weber Shandwick), to run a smear campaign against Native Forest Action.[1]

Labour won the 1999 election and stopped logging on the West Coast. The forests were transferred to the Department of Conservation and the West Coast region was compensated with an endowment fund of NZ$92 million. Development West Coast was set up in 2001 as a trust to administer this fund.[2]

Development West Coast is a shareholder in Te Ara Pounamu Ltd, which will spend $17.87 million developing new visitor centres in Westport, Greymouth, Hokitika, and Haast.[3]