Farm Forestry New ZealandMay 2018.
Biosecurity Levy Proposal, as it affects Plantation Forest Owners
Consultation Document:
The New Zealand Forest Owners Association (FOA) and the NZ Farm Forestry Association (FFA) acting on behalf of New Zealand plantation forest owners plans to apply to the Biosecurity Minister for a biosecurity levy under the Biosecurity Act. The biosecurity levy will be structured to raise up to 80% of total funds from a levy on harvested wood products (logs, woodchips etc) and no more than 20% of total funds from a levy on commercial plantation forest cuttings/seedlings.
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The biosecurity levy is completely separate from the existing Forest Grower Harvested Wood Products Levy and will only be used to raise industry funds to meet financial obligations incurred by the plantation forest industry as a signatory to a Government Industry Agreement for an agreed response to a biosecurity incursion.
The forest owner is ultimately responsible for paying the biosecurity levy, so for both the harvested wood component and the seedling/cutting component, if the entity firstly levied is not the forest owner then they are expected to pass the levy through to the forest owner.
The biosecurity levy will initially be set at zero and will only be activated once an incursion is accepted for response. The levy start date will be notified by email to nurseries and via major newspapers or by direct communication with forest owners.
To ensure security of information only the company managing the levy collection system will have access to individual company data. Data identifying the data collector or the levy payer can only be used for levy collection purposes. Amalgamated data may be used by the FOA/FFA to manage the biosecurity levy.
The levy on seedlings / cuttings will be between 1 cent and 4 cents per seedling/cutting and the levy on harvested wood products will be between 10 cents and 26 cents per tonne. The biosecurity levy has been structured to bring in a maximum of approximately $10 million per year, based upon an assumption that the national harvest level is 34 million cubic metres per annum, resulting in 63,000 hectares of replanting and 40,000 hectares per annum of new planting.
The biosecurity levy on seedlings/cuttings only applies to commercial plantation species. Commercial plantation species are defined in Appendix 1. Note this list may be amended.
Timetable:
- Consultation with the industry will continue until the application is lodged with MPI
- Application proposed to be lodged with MPI mid-2018
Your participation and co-operation in supporting the development and operation of the FOA/FFA Biosecurity Levy is very much appreciated. Please direct any feedback to Glen Mackie (contact details below).
If you are a Forest Manager can you please forward this letter to the forest/woodlot owners you deal with.
More detailed information covering common questions and answers, plus scenarios for different incursions is available at: http://nzfoa.org.nz/committees/forest-biosecurity-committee
Yours sincerely
Dave Cormack
Chair, FOA/FFA Biosecurity Committee
For further information please contact: Glen Mackie
Tel: 04 473 4769
Cell: 027 445 0116
glen.mackie@nzfoa.org.nz
Appendix 1 – Commercial plantation species – seedling/cuttings
The following trees are those considered to be commonly grown for commercial purposes. Due consideration of species which are also less commonly grown will be given in a biosecurity response on a case by case basis, with particular concern regarding carrier species.
- Radiata Pine (Pinus radiata) and hybrids
- Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
- Cypress (Cupressaceae spp)
- Macrocarpa(Cupressus macrocarpa)
- White Cedar (Cupressus lusitanica)
- Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
- Eucalypts (Myrtaceae spp):
- Shining Gum (Eucalyptus nitens)
- Brown Barrel (Eucalyptus fastigata)
- Mountain Ash (Eucalyptus regnans)
- Sydney Blue Gum(Eucalyptus saligna)
- Other Euc sp that are supplied for a commercial plantation
This list may be amended to reflect additional species not listed that are supplied to commercial forest owners / managers for planting in a plantation forest or woodlot.
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