Forestry

United Future recognises the strategic role of the forestry sector in the New Zealand economy in providing jobs, income and export earnings, while also balancing its contribution to the recreational sector.

United Future will:

• 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. We will also review the tax treatment of R & D to generate incentives for an increase in private sector expenditure.
• Balance the need for a viable industry with environmental sustainability.
• 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.
• Ensure that weeds, diseases and forest soil quality are adequately monitored.
• Introduce improved fire prevention, detection and control measures.
• Increase resources to control exotic pest populations such as possums
• Impose a moratorium on the aerial application of 1080 until it has been re-assessed by the Environmental Risk Management Authority.
• Defer final income tax on income derived from forestry until harvest where partly grown trees are sold. When partly grown trees are sold the seller will be assessed income tax in the usual way. However an amount equivalent to the income tax paid by the seller will be paid to the buyer by way of a forest encouragement grant.
• 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.
• Establish legal guidelines for drug-testing in the workplace, and encourage comprehensive employee assistance programmes in return for reduced ACC levies, to ensure there are no barriers to implementing testing.

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Parliamentary: Bowen House, Lambton Quay, Wellington E-mail: Ph: 04 471 9410