Federated Farmers: Fee plan concerns us

Owners of small forestry blocks could end up paying the same fees to councils as big commercial foresters.

By Rhea Dasent

Federated Farmers is concerned a central government proposal could mean owners of small forestry blocks on farms around the nation will end up paying the same fees to councils as big commercial foresters.

Last month Federated Farmers put in a submission on a Ministry for Primary Industries proposal to give councils the option of charging for monitoring permitted forestry activities.

The charging option was limited only to forestry activities that will be permitted under the proposed National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (NESPF), which is not yet in effect.

Farmers plant forestry for a number of reasons: as diversification of investment; on marginal areas of land; for shelter; for soil conservation, for carbon credits; or as a low-impact land use to balance other highly productive areas of the farm.

"The proposal is akin to being charged for monitoring when you drive past a speed camera in your car, even when complying with the speed limit."

These could all be vulnerable to the added cost, and with a total of 274,292ha of small farm forestry blocks in New Zealand, this adds up to a big burden on farmers collectively.

Federated Farmers is generally in support of user-pays for most council activities. However, the concept of having to pay for monitoring when you are complying with permitted rules is unjust.

The proposal is akin to being charged for monitoring when you drive past a speed camera in your car, even when complying with the speed limit.

The NPSPF was supposed to reduce costs on forestry and unwarranted variation by having only one set of standards around New Zealand, rather than every council reinventing the wheel. But this proposal could re-introduce these problems, as every council might have a different fee system and change it every year.

We've seen how different charges can be for resource consent monitoring between councils, so farm forestry can be hit hard with fees in one district, but not in others.
Federated Farmers is concerned about what "reasonable costs" actually entail, and who determines what is reasonable.

At least monitoring charges must not be used as a way to recover costs for other council activities. But the fees could end up as a disincentive to plant, even when central government and regional councils are encouraging forestry. Federated Farmers hopes the ministry will think again on their proposal.