Peters urges halt to kauri trade

PRECIOUS RESOURCES: A stockpile of Northland swamp kauri, much of which ends up overseas.

Northland MP Winston Peters is supporting calls for a moratorium on the excavation and exporting of ancient swamp kauri.

Responding to claims that logs were being exported after derisory efforts to give them the appearance of finished artworks, which would permit their sale, Mr Peters said "chiselled scribbles" could not be accepted as artwork and finishing work.

"These exports are illegal," he said.

"The exporters have used trickery, successfully duping officialdom while the Minister for Primary Industries, Nathan Guy, insanely suggests there is no loophole. The Minister and his officials should know how to apply the law.

"A full investigation is required. We must know what authorities have or have not been doing to police a trade that is quite clearly avoiding the rules. Allegations that export documents are not being filled out adequately and superficial carvings are being done to satisfy officials are all serious."

An export trade of "massive" logs was not in New Zealand's interests, and was a tragedy for the protected wetlands that were being drained.

"Anyone massively exploiting a resource will create a few jobs, but the jobs will be gone once the resource is depleted. This is not an industry we should be applauding. It is creating wealth for a few, plundering our environment and making a mockery of our laws," he said.

"The fact that a 'kaumatua' blessed some of these logs is totally irrelevant - there's always a kaumatua for sale."

Mr Guy said earlier that the exporting of kauri logs as Maori carvings was closely monitored and was not being used as a loophole, but Northland conservationists have long complained that large logs are being dug out of wetlands and sold overseas. And according to the Far North Protection Society, excavation was leaving sensitive wetlands badly damaged.

Swamp kauri may be exported as a finished or manufactured product, or a personal effect.

Whole or sawn stumps or roots may be exported with a milling statement and export approval, but logs may not be exported, either whole or sawn.

But with swamp kauri fetching large sums overseas, particularly in China, the society says logs are being passed off as Maori carvings and sent out of the country. And it has accused the Ministry for Primary Industries and Customs of turning a blind eye.

Labour has called for exports of kauri to be stopped, but Mr Guy has denied that there is an issue.

"I have seen photos where some fantastic-looking kauri swamp logs have been carved, and they are going to be an amazing feature for our country (in places where) they are destined for. So we manage it very, very closely," he said.

Far North Protection Society chairwoman Fiona Furrell said some of the carvings were little more than superficial scratching however. She said she had documents that she received from the ministry under the Official Information Act showing officials had had concerns about one carving in 2013. The exporter, New Zealand Forests, had stated that the carving would go to a Chinese showroom to showcase Maori culture.

'I find this rather unconventional because of its raw appearance,' a ministry official noted, while an 'expert' consulted by the ministry had reportedly described the carving as unusual 'in a traditional sense' because of its lack of depth and detail, although he had been unable to rule it out as being legitimate.