The Labour Party’s announcement that resource consent will be required for highly productive farmland to be converted into forestry is unlikely to address the issue of large-scale conversion of sheep and beef farms created by the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Chief Executive Sam McIvor says he welcomes the fact that Labour has acknowledged this is an issue that needs to be addressed, but does not believe the Resource Management Act is the appropriate vehicle.
“Consents can still be approved and will not necessarily restrict conversions.
“We want to work with political parties on what the best policy approach is for limiting wholesale conversion – and for the wider issue of emissions reductions.”
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For more information, please contact B+LNZ’s Katie Jans on katie.jans@beeflambnz.com