Pest scheme a start but more money needed
Thirty-four years is a long time. In 2050, if the trap slams shut on the last remaining stoat or rat in New Zealand, we can judge as an incredible success the pest-control strategy just announced by John Key’s Government.
Pragmatically, though, that target is many years away. How many members of the Government will still be in Parliament? And the $28 million being put by the Government into the scheme is a small amount, roughly the same as was spent on the failed effort to change the flag.
The idea deserves support, not least because finally the Government has shown an interest in protecting our environment. It would be easy to be cynical and say the lengthy timeline reflects a desire to push accountability a long way downstream. However, nobody can doubt the job of making our country predator-free is an undertaking that will cover generations.
Key says predators – stoats, feral cats, possums and rats – kill 25 million native birds a year and other species including indigenous lizards. The pests are estimated to cost the country $3.3 billion a year and he believes this is ‘‘the most ambitious conservation project’’ ever attempted globally.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says it will require a ‘‘massive team effort’’ involving government agencies, councils, public and private sector organisations, iwi and communities.
This scheme is going to require a lot of private funding to make it work. A new Crown entity – Predator Free New Zealand Ltd – will oversee the public-private partnership and identify pest- control projects with the greatest potential impact. For every $2 put in by councils and the private sector, the Government is pledging to disburse $1.
The strategy has been welcomed by most political and environmental groups, and academics. The Green Party has praised the aims, but also introduced the reality check that the Government’s contribution is a drop in the bucket.
Greens conservation spokesman Kevin Hague says it might make Stewart Island predator-free but University of Auckland calculations show $9b is more likely the price for clearing the whole country.
Commendably, the Government has set some interim goals to achieve by 2025, including having 1 million hectares where pests are suppressed or removed, and a scientific breakthrough capable of eradicating one small mammal predator. Such goals should help the strategy on to the right track.
There have been successful public-private partnerships in the conservation sector. But do we really need a Crown entity to manage the process? Why not give the money to the beleaguered Department of Conservation, which has suffered big budget cuts, to start the ball rolling?