Forestry
United Future recognises the strategic role of the forestry sector to the New Zealand economy in providing jobs, income and export earnings, while also balancing its contribution to the recreational and environmental sectors.
United Future's position is to:
- assist the forest sector to move up the value-added chain through research and development and industry partnerships, so that end products derived from our forests, rather than unprocessed chips or logs, are exported to the greatest extent possible.
- work closely with the industry and other interested parties, such as recreational users, to maintain a strategic overview of issues affecting or impacting on the sector such as sambar deer.
- ensure that weeds, diseases and forest soil quality are adequately monitored.
- increase resources to control exotic pest populations such as possums.
- ensure that NZ producers of sustainably-harvested timber products are not undercut via the "dumping" of imported timber and products that have been harvested without regard to sustainability criteria.