NZ’s Federated Farmers says a report back to Parliament on the so-called ‘ban on carbon forestry’ doesn’t go far enough to stop the march of pines across New Zealand’s productive farmland.
“This is an incredibly disappointing result, and many farmers will be feeling a total sense of betrayal,” said Richard Dawkins, the group’s forestry spokesperson. “Despite widespread feedback during consultation, and clear cross-party support for action, massive loopholes remain in the committee’s recommendations.”
Wood Central understands that the report was meant to address growing concerns about the conversion of farmland into permanent carbon forests. But according to Dawkins, it does little to slow the trend. “The march of permanent carbon farms across productive farmland won’t be stopping any time soon,” he said.
One small win, Dawkins noted, was the committee’s response to concerns around the ‘intent to plant’ test. Federated Farmers had argued that buying seedlings without owning land shouldn’t qualify as a genuine intent to plant. “We made a very strong case that simply purchasing seedlings before 4 December 2024, with no land to plant them on, should not count as a clear intent to plant,” he said. The committee has now recommended redrafting the Bill to make that point explicit. “If they had seedlings but no land, they wouldn’t be able to enter the ETS.”
Still, Dawkins said the broader framework misses the mark—particularly when it comes to land classifications. “It’s extremely disappointing that what’s proposed continues to ban whole-farm conversions only on LUC classes 1–5 land,” he said. “That might sound good in a press release, but in reality, only 12% of farm conversions were happening on that land anyway.”
The real threat, he argued, lies in the hill country—where most sheep and beef farms are located. “Two-thirds of sheep and beef farms are on classes 6 and 7 land,” Dawkins said. “Once those farms are gone, they’re gone for good.”
He also took aim at the proposed ‘lottery’ system for class 6 land, which would allow up to 15,000 hectares of conversions each year on a first-come, first-served basis. “There are also no restrictions on classes 7 and 8 land—effectively making it open slather. If you’re in the business of carbon forestry, business is going to be booming.”
Federated Farmers is pushing for a consistent 25% carbon credit limit across all land classes. “Otherwise, the damage just shifts—it doesn’t stop,” Dawkins said. “Class 6 and 7 hill country is not ‘marginal land’ as it’s often described by foresters. It’s often productive breeding land that underpins New Zealand’s entire red meat sector.”
“Sacrificing that land to carbon speculation isn’t just short-sighted,” he added. “It’s economic self-sabotage that will rip the guts out of rural communities, not to mention the national economy.” The group is urging the Government to go further and supports the Labour Party minority view that a full review of the ETS and carbon forestry is needed. “This was one of our 12 key asks for rebuilding farmer confidence leading into the 2023 election,” Dawkins said.
