Trees, not people, destined for the chop, North hopes

Northland mayors are relaxed about the sale of Carter Holt Harvey to Kiwi billionaire Graeme Hart.

While some pundits are warning that Mr Hart's trademark slash-and-burn approach to newly acquired conglomerates could choke rural towns, Northland local-body leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Kaipara Mayor Peter King said there was no need for nervousness at this stage.

"I don't see any cause for concern about who actually owns the forests. There's no mill over here, only trees in the ground," Mr King said.

A spokesperson for Far North Mayor Yvonne Sharp said there were significant CHH interests in the district but the council had not considered whether the change of ownership would have negative impacts.

CHH manages 60,000 ha of forest north of Auckland, including the Woodhill Forest, but could not specify how much of that was owned rather than leased by the company.

Northland's councils also had trouble identifying CHH-owned land because of the fragmented nature of the holdings.

CHH employs 6000 people in New Zealand and several thousand in Australia and Asia. It owns four pulp mills and nearly 30 sawmills and board plants.

It is a major employer in North Island milltowns such as Tokoroa and Kinleith and mayors and business leaders in those communities are optimistic that New Zealand ownership will be a consolidating factor.

But Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing union secretary Andrew Little said he feared Mr Hart could try to extract short-term value by splitting up the company, leaving its future insecure.

Dairy Workers Union secretary James Ritchie, who saw lay-offs at NZ Dairy Foods under Mr Hart's ownership, said it was "nonsense" to expect patriotic considerations to influence his business strategies.

Meanwhile, TDC Sawmills owner Tony Davies-Colley believed it would be "business as usual" after the sale.

"I see no issues for the north, whether the conglomerate is broken up or not."

He said CHH had already begun a process of division with the recent sale of some forests to the Rayonier Group.

TDC Sawmills has a $40m turnover and employs about 150 at its plant in the Port Rd area.

Mr Davies-Colley said forestry in Northland was already in diverse ownership and CHH was just one of many businesses supplying logs to his company.

Mr Hart's company Rank Group secured its major shareholding in a $1.6 billion swoop on US-based International Paper's 50.5 per cent share of CHH at $2.50 a share.

Under local takeover rules, Rank Group must now make the same offer other shareholders in a deal worth $3.3 billion.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)