New Minister to kick-start tree planting
SHANE JONES, THE NEW MINISTER OF Forestry, has embarked on making good on his pre-election promise to double the number of new trees going into the ground and he wants to see progress as soon as possible.
Work has already started on identifying where the additional trees can be planted and he has instructed officials to talk to land owners and come up with a plan.
Mr Jones has also put the wheels in motion to establish a separate Forest Service in Rotorua.
He told NZ Logger magazine that the new Forest Service will be based on the Crown Forestry unit currently situated within the Ministry of Primary Industries, although he cautioned that it could take a while before we see officials occupying a building in Rotorua.
“We are going through a process of adjusting their mandate,” he says. “There are some proven ‘soldiers’ in that part of the bureaucratic field and we’ll be empowering that unit and making it a lot more active.
“Once you start this sort of restructuring you are at the mercy of the State Services Commission. Working with the bureaucracy to bring about a new organisation, you can’t push that through at breakneck pace.”
In the meantime, efforts are going on behind the scenes to gather as much information as possible, with officials talking to those who may be part of the new tree planting programme.
“It’s already started, we picked up some of the work of the former Minister, such as the announcement to expand our erosion control investment – that is only going to grow,” says Mr Jones. “A lot of that (erosion planting) is likely to be Manuka and in many places, as it expands, it’s going to be permanent forest sink.
“In respect of exotic tree planting, the Crown Forestry unit has already established contact with the variety of nurseries and they are providing advice in terms of what is practical and what is deliverable.”
Mr Jones says it will be important to “bring the community with us” to ensure the new government achieves its goal of adding another 50,000 hectares of new tree planting each year, over and above the 50,000 hectares replanted after harvesting. He wants to see the consultative net cast wide, including service clubs, NGOs, schools, local and regional councils, as well as Maori land owners and farmers “to see how we can all work together”.
He has also met with key stakeholders in the forestry industry, including the NZ Forest Owners Association and the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association.
The WPMA told Mr Jones that it wants to see more progress on combating nontrade barriers and subsidising of lumber in export markets, which puts our timber at a disadvantage, and he has promised to keep officials focused on those objectives. Additionally, the WPMA has put forward the idea of establishing a working group to look at the security of wood supply for mills in various parts of the country – an issue Mr Jones and NZ First leader Winston Peters campaigned on during the election. Mr Jones says he has asked MPI to look at assisting with setting up and funding the working group.
NZL