Government Backs Commercial Forestry With Practical Rule Changes
Minister of Forestry
The Government is taking firm action to ensure commercial forestry – one of New Zealand's most productive and sustainable export sectors – is not stifled by red tape and inconsistent council rules Minister of Forestry Todd McClay announced today.
Public consultation opens this week on proposed amendments to the National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF), aimed at restoring national consistency and protecting the sector's right to operate.
'Our fibre sector – from forestry to wood processors – plays a crucial role in New Zealand's economy, particularly in regional communities,' Mr McClay says.
'These changes are about getting foresters and wood processors back in the driver's seat and stopping councils from using their plans to rewrite the rules on forestry through the back door.'
The current NES-CF was designed to provide a nationally consistent framework for managing the environmental effects of plantation forestry. However, recent changes have allowed councils to bypass that intent by imposing more stringent rules without justification – a trend that is now undermining investment and confidence in the sector.
Key proposed changes include:
Clarifying regulation 6(1)(a) to tighten the conditions under which a council can impose rules that are more stringent than national direction.
Repealing regulation 6(4A), which currently gives councils broad discretion to override the NES-CF for afforestation without justification.
Strengthening slash management by requiring a Slash Mobilisation Risk Assessment as part of all harvest management plans, and considering refining requirements to remove all slash above a certain size from forest cutovers.
Tidying up the NES-CF with minor amendments to remove duplication and improve clarity for foresters and councils alike.
'We are hearing loud and clear from the forestry sector – and from regional New Zealand – that the current rules aren't working,' Mr McClay says.
'Too many councils are starting to use vague discretion to block or delay forestry operations that meet national environmental standards. That's not what the system was designed for, so we're fixing it.'
The forestry sector has been vocal about the need for a consistent regulatory environment that enables long-term planning and sustainable growth. These proposed changes are intended to support that vision while still managing environmental risks, including from storm events and slash.
'This Government backs the fibre sector – and that means making sure regulation is clear, practical, and nationally consistent,' Mr McClay says.
'Whether you're planting trees, harvesting them, or processing them into world-leading products, you shouldn't be subject to a different set of rules just because of which council you happen to fall under.'
Consultation on the proposed changes to the NES-CF is now open via the Ministry for the Environment's website and will run until 27 July 2025.
Note:
The National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry (NES-CF) set consistent baseline environmental rules for plantation forestry across New Zealand. The Government is proposing targeted amendments to restore national consistency, support forestry productivity, and improve slash management.
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Moreover, this would be a big piece of work to get right and the clock was ticking with less than 18 months left in the Parliamentary term and a summer break in between. If a review of how tikanga was incorporated or better reflected in Parliament was to be completed this term, all six parties would need to come to the table. Given the tenor of the debate and the vast differences between party ideology, it was hard to see a scenario in which the whole of Parliament was able to agree on a constructive way to amend the laws of Parliament to reflect what the Supreme Court considered to be the first law of the land. The message from Labour's Jackson was that it couldn't, really. 'Te Pāti Māori want to express our culture when the reality is this: this is a tikanga Pākeha place. That's a reality. There ain't no tino rangatiratanga here,' Jackson said last month. 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Last month – the day the Privileges Committee debate was supposed to take place – Maipi-Clarke submitted a member's bill to the ballot, which would include Te Tiriti o Waitangi in the Constitution Act, mandate that all MPs undertake training in respect to te Tiriti o Waitangi, and that Parliament develop and maintain a te ao Māori strategy. Speaking in the House on Thursday, Maipi-Clarke's described herself as 'a quiet person by nature'. She acknowledged that she had been largely absent from the debate on this issue since she initiated the haka last November. 'I came into this House to give voice to the voiceless,' she said – her voice catching with emotion. 'Is that the issue here? Is that the real intimidation here? Are our voices too loud for this House? Is that the reason why we are being silenced? Are our voices shaking the core foundation of this House, the House we had no voice in building?' Maipi-Clarke said it wasn't a 'left or right issue'. 'This is about getting the foundations right first, to move forward as a country.' Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke initiated a haka last November that set this six-month process in train. Photo: Sam Sachdeva On Thursday evening the 22-year-old MP picked up her packed bags and left the Parliamentary precinct alongside her co-leaders, MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp and party staffers and supporters. But before that, she said that until te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations were understood and entrenched Parliament would continue having this debate. The process has lasted more than six months, from when the haka was performed in November to when the members were referred to the Privileges Committee in December, through the hearing and deliberation process to when the report was released in May and then to the final debate and vote in June. 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