Policy Position on Government Policies Incentivising the Afforestation of Farmland 

In March 2022 the National Council of Federated Farmers of New Zealand approved a revised policy on ‘Government policies incentivising the blanket afforestation of farmland’. 

These revised Policies are that: 

1. The Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) be amended to limit how many forestry units participants can surrender for non-forestry related activities.
2. The National Environmental Standard for Plantation Forestry (NES PF) be amended to include permanent, carbon-only forestry. This recommendation is subject to Recommendation 3.
3. The resource consenting process be amended so that particular land uses are not discriminated against, and all land uses are treated equally as regards to their effects. This would involve exploring the suitability of requiring afforestation of farmland above a certain area or percentage to require a resource consent (in a process like that required for other types of land use change).
4. The Overseas Investment regime be amended to restrict the streamlined special Forestry Test to the purchase of land that is already in forestry. Note this policy partially aligns with a 24th of February announcement by Associate Minister of Finance David Parker1.
5. Changes to legislation be made that would result in forestry land paying rates that accurately reflect its impact on council activities, such as roading. Changes are needed to ensure the rating system is fair and should include:
   0. Councils required to have forestry rates differentials
   1. Value of forestry in the ETS to be rateable as per permanent crops
   2. Councils be given the ability to recover costs for damage to infrastructure
6. The risk of fire to rural communities from afforestation be better managed, including via legislating for a National Policy Statement (NPS) for Fire Management.
7. Forestry be bound to nationally consistent ‘good neighbour’ pest management rules to help prevent the spread of pest species across boundaries with productive farmland.
8. A review to be undertaken on the impact of market speculation on the price of NZUs and the subsequent impact on the wellbeing of rural communities. 

A brief background on, these revised policies can be found in the Policy Position Paper. More information on the policies and issues can be found included in a February 2022 Issues Paper which informed these policies.

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