North Canterbury News: May 12, 2022

Wood lots and
shelter belts
Small wood lots
for logging and
firewood blocks
Mob:0274438 462
For all your general
farm and forestry
earthmoving
requirements
Baden Ryan: 027 229 1579
Pam Ryan: 027 381 2741
e: ryanearth18@hotmail.com
w: ryanearthmovingltd.co.nz
ryan earthmoving ltd
HOW TO ENTER
Forest
Management Ltd
With 25 years experience in the
industry the Forest
Management Team offer
services in:
• Woodlot and shelterbelt
harvesting
• Timber sales to domestic
and export markets
• Forest establishment of
harvested and greenfield sites
• Forest valuation
• Emission Trading Scheme
advice and management
• Trainer/Assessor in NZQA
forestry related units
Our highly experienced teams aim to
ensure value optimisation in all aspects
of forest management.
2405495
2372099
FORESTRY
24 North Canterbury News, May 12, 2022
Emissions taxing of agriculture
OPINION
Jamie McFadden says emission
taxing of agriculture defies logic.
Jamie is chairman of North
Canterbury based Rural Advocacy
Network and spokesman for
Groundswell. From asheep and
beef farming background, Jamie
and his wife Linda run an
environmental consultancy and
eco-sourced native plant nursery
and planting business.
Having attended the webinars, meetings
and reading the information, Iamnone
the wiser as to why the world’s most
emission efficient farmers are being taxed
for emissions, and by howmuch.
How have we gone from a2003 petition
of over 60,000people opposing the
emissions tax,toall our farminggroups
now actively assisting thegovernment to
implement an emissions tax in a
WIN A$5,000RRP
E TRADIE PACK
MADE UP OF MILWAUKEETOOLS OF YOUR CHOICE!
EVERY $50 SPENT ON MILWAUKEE PRODUCT AT THE TOOLSHED BEFORE 31ST MAY 2022
GIVES YOU ANAUTOMATIC ENTRY IN THE DRAW TO WIN. *
*Terms and Conditions Apply.
To find out more call
us on 03 343 4101
or visit www.forestmanagement.co.nz
1809634
partnershipcalledHeWaka EkeNoa
(HWEN)?
The purpose of HWEN is unclear.
If theaim was to reduceglobal
emissions, then ablunt tax on the world’s
most emission efficientfood producers
would notsee the lightofday.
The publicity also states thepurposeof
HWEN was to come up with an emissions
tax optionthat was better than the ETS.
Seems it is nothing to do withbeing
visionary,achieving environmental
outcomes or effective,efficient policy–it
ismainly about how to emission tax
farmers in the nicest way possible.
This wouldexplainthe sales pitch,
which was to makefarmers so fearful of
the dreaded ETS thatthey would choose
an almostequally flawed option simply on
the grounds of it being soldasless
repugnant.
To seal the HWEN emissions tax deal,
some sweeteners havebeen thrownin.
The first is that the two HWEN options
allow farmingrepresentatives to be at the
‘‘advisory board’’ table with the
government.
The problemwiththis ‘‘wemustalways
be at the table’’ thinking is that farmersare
alwaysonthe menu,and is why we now
have so many unworkable regulations.
The second sweetener is the promise of
sequestration credits.
However, these havebeen massively
overstated. Read the fine print and most
nativebush, riparian plantings and exotics
will notqualify.
Idon’t everrecallinmy25years of
submission processes not knowing what a
proposal was going to cost me.
There is insufficient cost benefit,
Spotlight on exotics
More work needs to be done to address
concerns over the increasing amount
of exotic carbon forestry, Beef +Lamb
New Zealand (BLNZ)says.
In its submission to the
Government’s consultation on
proposalsthat aim to limit the
increasingamount of plantings across
New Zealand, particularlyon
productivesheep and beef farmland,
BLNZ worked closely with DairyNZ
and Federated Farmerstoensure
theirsubmissions wereclosely
aligned.
BLNZ chief executive Sam McIvor
says the increasingrate of exotic
carbon forestryplanting on productive
farmland needs urgentaction, but it’s
equally important that the right action
is taken.
‘‘We applaud the Governmentfor the
intent behind this consultation to limit
carbon­onlyfarming by limiting exotic
forestry in the permanent category of
the ETS.
‘‘However we don’tthink this
proposal will go far enough to stopthe
deeply concerningnumber of farms
beingsold intoforestry and to address
the gutting of rural communities.’’
Mr McIvorsays the proposal is
‘‘tinkering around the edges’’.
‘‘We need to see afundamental
decision about how we use trees in
transitioning to alow emissions future.
‘‘Ourposition remainsthat we need
to see specific limits in the ETS on the
amount of offsetting fossil fuelemitters
can do –inline with what happens in
othercountries internationally.
‘‘We also havequestions about the
specific design of the proposal to
remove exotic trees from the
permanent categoryrelatingtothe
feasibility of implementing what’s
proposed,and concerns about the lack
of detail aroundcrucial aspects within
the proposalsuch as an exemptions
regime.’’
Jamie McFadden
environmental and economic analysis, and
we have no idea what the administration
costtofarmerswill be.
Throw in the DairyNZpredetermination
issue, and if this was acouncil
consultation process it would have been
thrown out by the courts for multiple
process failures.
In summary, if the goal is environmental
outcomes and reducing globalemissions,
thenthere is no place for the current
HWEN or ETS emissions tax options.
Groundswellare seekingfarmer and
public support for an alternative solution
that takesapractical,integrated approach
to addressing all environmental issues,
including emissions. No morepoliciesin
silos.
We advocate for afocus on
environmentaloutcomes and actions on
thegroundtailored to each individual
farm and catchment. More information is
on our website.
Sam McIvor, BLNZ chief executive.
In the meantime, BLNZ is callingfor
amoratorium on allowing exotic
forests entry into the ETS underthe
permanent forest category for at least
two years.
This allowstime to develop policy
mechanismstoaddress the concerns,
such as potential exemptionsora
standardsregime for that category and
limitsonforestry offsetting.
Mr McIvor acknowledges a
moratorium would impact the ability
for more desirable integrated
plantings to enter into thiscategory,
such as poplar or willowplanting for
erosion control.
It alsoimpactsonsome landowners’
(especiallyiwi) desires to establish
exoticplantings which then transition
to native forest overtime.
‘‘However we believe this
moratorium would providetime to get
the rulesright so we can best provide
for theseactivities.
‘‘To be clear, we can see arole for
appropriatelymanagedpermanent
exotics within farms, and we want to
support this.
‘‘Ourconcernisthe sale of whole
farmsfor conversioninto permanent
carbon farming.’’