Farmers resent being told how to manage their land by 'Greenies'

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 628, 19 March 1996, Page 15

Farmers resent being told how to manage their land by 'Greenies'

Environmentalists or "greenies" are having far too much influence on the management of farms, rivers and indigenous forests according to local farmer and committee member of the New Zealand Federation of Indigenous Forest Owners and Associates, Lionel West. Mr West is particularly critical of the "office-boy bureaucrats" who administer the Resource Management Act (RMA), the Forestry Amendment Act (FAA) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS). According to Mr West strong opposition is rising from many sectors of the community to some aspects of the Acts but particularly as they apply to farmers and their properties. He says.that the NZ Federation of Indigenous Forest Owners and Associates is trying to tell government, local councils and conservation groups that the FAA is a "ridiculous and completely unnecessary piece of legislation decided by people who, in many instances, have little knowledge of our native bush." Under this Act 2 percent of pri vately owned indigenous forest must be harvested under a sustainable management plan meaning that all Ecosystems should be maintained in perpetivity which, from a city idealist's point of view, is ideal but, in practice, 96 percent of indigenous forest on DoC land (which is not subject to these Acts) the land is degenerating rapidly with pests such as possums and goats decimating the bush by destroying the natural cycles of bird life, seed dispersal and insect distribution. Mr West said that goats in particular are "slowly but surely" stripping the forest floor bare with the result that

seedlings of all species of trees are not able to become established and yet these "environmentalists have the audacity to tell farmers, most of whom have nurtured their forests for years, how to manage them." Mr West claims that many private forests owned by farmers are also being ruined by pests from (neighbouring) DoC land. Another Act causing property owners "grave concern" is the Occupational Health and Safety Act which states that, under the OHS, anyone entering a property who suffers an accident or injury , can hold the property owner liable. However, property owners can now breathe a sigh of relief as the OHS has recently lost a test case contesting this liability though it could yet be appealed. Another possible success which could be attributed to the NZ Federation of Indigenous Forest Owners and Associates, said Mr West, was in corinection with the ruling in the RMA about.the Queen's Chain as it was interpreted by the Ruapehu District Council. in their District Plan. "I'm told that the Ruapehu District Council staff have recommended that the extension of the Queen' s Chain to 100 metres (from 10m) for landscape control be deleted from the District Plan." He said that environmentalists and "greenies" should recognise that, mostly, farmers are the greatest environmentalists of all because if they weren' t they ' d go broke." "Farmers put their money where their mouth is whereas "greenies" etc put their mouth where someone else's money is."