Have your say on the Forest Amendments Bill

Forestry and logs. Photo: Supplied.

The public is invited to have a say on the Legal Harvest Assurance Bill and learn about the implications for importers and exporters.

The Forests (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Bill is currently before the Primary Production Select Committee and public submissions can be made until August 3.

The Bill represents a concrete step that the Government is taking to assure consumers and overseas buyers that the timber they are purchasing has been legally harvested.

The bill will apply to importers of wood products, along with primary processors and exporters of New Zealand grown timber.

The purpose of the bill is so that there is a way to ensure timber is harvested legally

The legal harvest assurance system would cover:

  • forest owners, or those responsible for the harvest
  • log traders
  • primary or first-stage processors
  • importers
  • exporters.

Under the system, most would have to:

  • register with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
  • show how they'll reduce the risk of dealing with timber that is illegally harvested (due diligence).

Under the system, forest owners or those responsible for the harvest would need to provide legal harvest information to the log buyer.

Some exemptions and thresholds would apply.

Forest owners would not be required to register unless they were also a log trader or exporter.

Anyone not required to register could still register voluntarily. They might do this if: they were exporting, or if their customers were asking for evidence that showed timber was legally harvested.

To learn more and to make a public submission on the bill click here

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