C—3

In effect, the Timber Emergency Regulations enable the State Forest Service through the Timber Controller, to act as agent for Maori owners in arranging for the sale of their timber and provide a short cut to the normal procedure under the Native Land Act, 1931. In no case is this power now exercised except upon the request or with the written consent of Maori owners concerned. Written requests have been received from Maori owners of two blocks to arrange the sale of the forest on their behalf, and notices dealing with these forests will shortly be issued. Such a notice is sent to the Maori Land Board, which is authorized to accept the notice on behalf of Maori owners, and is required to take such steps as it thinks desirable and expedient to advise the owners of the giving of the notice. It has been demonstrated that the machinery of the Timber Emergency Regulations 1939, while performing a useful national purpose during the period of emergency, is now recognized as establishing a valuable liaison between the Maori owners and the Forest Service which is not otherwise provided for by law, and consequently it is desirable that provision should be made in the permanent law for the continuance of this service to Maori owners of forests. (c) Exotic Forests (Commercial) : Four consents for the sale and purchase of exotic forests established for commercial timber-production by afforestation companies were granted during the year. Three of these consents were given subject to the usual conditions requiring the forest-owner to submit for approval a working plan setting out fully proposals for silvicultural management, progressive re-establishment of cutover areas, and forest-fire prevention and control. Of three working plans received during the year, one was approved and the others are at present under examination. The wider recognition given to the suitability of exotic-pine timber in wood-using industries is reflected in the increasing interest taken by well-established sawmilling firms in areas of exotic forest grown for commercial purposes and in establishing suitable modern sawmilling equipment. As an added danger to the safety of exotic forests is inevitable with sawmilling operations, it is clearly to the interests of the sawmiller and forest-owner to co-operate and provide the best possible means for the protection of the forests from fire and ensure their continued productivity. 109. The Timber Position. —As it was still not possible for normal quantities of timber to be shipped out of Westland and Nelson ports during the year, the North Island continued to feel a timber shortage more than the South Island. In pre-war years between 25,000,000 board feet and 30,000,000 board feet of timber were regularly shipped from Greymouth and Westport to the North Island and to Australia ; last year shipping for less than 7,000,000 board feet was available for these ports. Although receiving less than a normal supply of timber from the South Island, the North Island, on account of the shipping position, was required to supply half the timber exported to the Commonwealth. The maintenance of zone quotas during the year in the North Island presented considerable difficulty. The North Island Sawmillers' Distributing Association was responsible for this work in fifteen of the seventeen zones and carried out the task effectively. The distribution of the timber within the zones was also fraught with difficulties, not the least of which was the maintenance of an equitable allocation between the building industry and other timber-using industries. Another problem was in meeting the demand for finishing-timbers in zones where no dry-kiln facilities are available. As demand has for many years nullified all efforts to improve timber stocks, many wood-users are now forced either to use green timber for finishing purposes or pay the added cost of having the timber transported and dried in kilns often located as far as one hundred and fifty miles away.

45