Positive Ideas Were Blocked

A public meeting at Masterton last week to consider the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry’s discussion document on climate change was hijacked by Roger Dickie and, surprisingly, the business director of Forest Enterprises.

Both men spent more than $300,000 in advertising and attending the MAF meetings. They distributed a “facts” sheet that contained one- sided argument and exaggerated claims. MAF presentations were continually interrupted, slowing proceedings. The forestry discussion was so clogged with negative emotional rhetoric that the lifeblood of positive ideas was blocked.

This is a great pity. The vague proposals in the MAF document will limit forestry’s contribution. Among other things, they should detail species, including native timber, which sequester more carbon, add biodiversity, lead to continuous cover forestry, save imports and provide new business opportunities.

The Government needs to establish the same kind of research and technical development for alternative species that have made pines the reliable investments they are today.

It would be tragic if negative over- reaction prevented the development of creative strategies for forestry to reduce our carbon footprint in world food markets.

ALLAN LEVETT

Tinui and Crofton Downs

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