Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Auditor-General rejects swamp kauri inquiry

By Peter de Graaf
Northern Advocate·
15 Sep, 2015 12:30 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

The Auditor-General found no evidence swamp kauri logs are being exported illegally - but she did find that systems for preventing illegal extraction were ineffective. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The Auditor-General found no evidence swamp kauri logs are being exported illegally - but she did find that systems for preventing illegal extraction were ineffective. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The Auditor-General has rejected demands by Northland conservation groups for an inquiry into the swamp kauri industry - but backed their claims that systems designed to prevent illegal timber extraction were open to abuse.

She also left open the definition of what constitutes a "finished product" - unprocessed timber cannot be exported - saying that was up to the courts to decide.

In May the Northland Environmental Protection Society, along with Far North Forest and Bird, lodged a complaint with Auditor-General Lyn Provost calling for an urgent inquiry into the swamp kauri trade.

They alleged the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Customs were turning a blind eye to the export of unprocessed kauri logs, planks and slabs, despite a ban under the Forests Act.

They also claimed timber was being superficially disguised as carvings or table tops to get around export rules, and that protected wetlands were being destroyed by uncontrolled extraction.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In a response released on Thursday, Ms Provost said it was clear some exporters had been "testing" the level of modification required before swamp kauri could be exported. There were also differing interpretations of what constituted a finished product.

However, Ms Provost found no evidence that timber was being exported illegally. Photos purporting to show swamp kauri logs overseas had been taken in New Zealand, she said.

She agreed, however, that the system used until a few months ago for verifying the source of swamp kauri was not effective.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Milling statements, which were supposed to prove logs had been extracted legally, were issued on a "high-trust system" with minimal inspections before or after extraction.

MPI believed protecting the environment was the regional council's job but because extraction of swamp kauri from non-indigenous sites was a permitted activity, no council approval was needed.

That meant extraction was carried out with little central or local government oversight, "creating a possibility that milling statements had been approved based on inaccurate, incorrect or false information".

Ms Provost said new rules brought in by MPI in July would reduce that risk. Now operators had to inform the council any time they wanted to extract swamp kauri, and MPI would try to visit every site as part of its new milling statement approval process.

Discover more

Tougher measures for extraction and export of swamp kauri

13 Jul 02:41 AM

Tougher controls for swamp kauri

13 Jul 10:00 PM

Inquiry into kauri exports called for

15 Jul 08:00 PM

MPI was also planning to produce a new guide outlining what it considered a finished product, and had agreed to increase staffing in Whangarei to improve inspections of sawmills and export shipments.

Better and more readily available information about swamp kauri would also help alleviate public concern, Ms Provost said.

Northland Environmental Protection Society chairwoman Fiona Furrell said her only disappointment with Ms Provost's response was that she had taken MPI's word that the swamp kauri log photos had been taken in New Zealand.

Group members had been to swamp kauri factories in the US and verified that some photos had been taken there. In one video clip port workers could be heard speaking Italian as they unloaded swamp kauri.

She agreed with Ms Provost that the definition of finished product would have to be tested in court. The society was planning legal action to do exactly that, she said.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

'Didn't think I was going very fast': Uncle pleads guilty after toddler's fatal fall from ute

09 Jul 07:41 AM
Northern Advocate

Art exhibition marks Whangārei’s place in Rainbow Warrior bombing 40 years on

09 Jul 12:00 AM
Northern Advocate

National Māori leader stands for Northland Regional Council

08 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

'Didn't think I was going very fast': Uncle pleads guilty after toddler's fatal fall from ute

'Didn't think I was going very fast': Uncle pleads guilty after toddler's fatal fall from ute

09 Jul 07:41 AM

Aitua Puriri said he didn't believe he was driving very fast at the time his nephew fell.

Art exhibition marks Whangārei’s place in Rainbow Warrior bombing 40 years on

Art exhibition marks Whangārei’s place in Rainbow Warrior bombing 40 years on

09 Jul 12:00 AM
National Māori leader stands for Northland Regional Council

National Māori leader stands for Northland Regional Council

08 Jul 05:00 PM
News in brief: Deadline extended for story submissions

News in brief: Deadline extended for story submissions

08 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP