| Hon David Carter | |
Forests Amendment Bill 1999 |
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ANALYSIS |
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| Title | |
| 1. | Short Title and commencement |
PART 1 |
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Amendments to Principal Act |
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| 2. | Interpretation |
| 3. | New sections substituted |
| 67A. | This Part binds the Crown |
| 67AA. | Part does not permit felling or harvesting other than in accordance with relevant enactment |
| 4. | Prohibition on export of certain indigenous forest produce |
| 5. | Prohibition on milling indigenous timber |
| 6. | New sections and heading inserted |
| 67DA. | Forests on specified Maori land to which sawmill controls apply |
Felling Controls |
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| 67DB. | Prohibition on felling indigenous timber |
| 7. | Sustainable forest management plans |
| 8. | Procedure for approval of sustainable forest management plans |
| 9. | Notice requirements |
| 10. | Secretary's power to require amendments to plans |
| 11. | Other provisions relating to review and amendment of sustainable forest management plans |
| 12. | Sustainable forest management plan to be recorded against certificate of title |
| 13. | Sustainable forest management permits |
| 14. | Records |
| 15. | Powers of entry and seizure |
| 16. | Offences |
| 17. | Relationship of Part with Resource Management Act 1991 |
PART 2 |
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Transitional Provisions |
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| 18. | Interpretation |
| 19. | This Part binds the Crown |
Transitional Provision for Export of Timber |
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| 20. | Transitional provision for export of indigenous timber from West Coast indigenous production forests |
Transitional Provisions for Milling of Timber |
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| 21. | Transitional provision for milling of timber from West Coast indigenous production forests |
| 22. | Application of sections 23 and 24 to affected forests |
| 23. | Transitional provisions to apply for fixed time or fixed harvest |
| 24. | Establishment of total allowable harvest |
| 25. | Compensation |
| 26. | Power to specify criteria and method of assessment in relation to payment of assistance |
| 27. | Variation of Schedule |
| 28. | Revocation of clause 4 of Customs Export Prohibition Order 1996 |
| 29. | Relationship of Part with Resource Management Act 1991 |
SCHEDULE |
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List of Affected Forests |
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A BILL INTITULED |
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| An Act to amend the Forests Act 1949 | |
| BE IT ENACTED by the Parliament of New Zealand as follows: | |
1. Short Title and commencement—(1) This Act may be cited as the Forests Amendment Act 1999, and is part of the Forests Act 1949[ 1 ] ("the principal Act"). |
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| (2) This Act comes into force on the date on which it receives the Royal assent. | |
| [ 1 ] R.S. Vol. 34, p. 569 Amendments: 1996, Nos. 25, 124 |
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| PART 1 | |
| Amendments to Principal Act | |
2. Interpretation—(1) Section 2 (1) of the principal Act is amended by repealing the definition of the term "landholding", and substituting the following definition: |
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| " 'Landholding' means an estate, right, title, or interest of any kind in or over an area of land by or under which indigenous timber may be harvested; but does not include an interest by way of charge or security:". | |
| (2) Section 2 (1) of the principal Act is amended by inserting in the definition of the term "planted indigenous forest", after the words "means any indigenous", the word "timber". | |
| (3) Section 2 (1) of the principal Act is amended by inserting, after the definition of the term "Secretary", the following definition: | |
| " 'Specified Maori land' means land having the status of Maori land or General land owned by Maori, as defined in section 4 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993, and originally reserved or granted under— | |
| "(a) | The South Island Landless Maori Act 1906; or |
| "(b) | Section 12 of the Maori Land Amendment Act 1914; or |
| "(c) | Section 88 of the Reserves and other Lands Disposal and Public Bodies Empowering Act 1916; or |
| "(d) | Section 110 of the Maori Purposes Act 1931:". |
| (4) Section 2 (1) of the principal Act is amended by repealing the definition of the term "timber", and substituting the following definition: | |
| " 'Timber'— | |
| "(a) | Means— |
| "(i) Trees (excluding cuttings, suckers, and shoots); and | |
| "(ii) Woody plants able to be milled; and | |
| "(b) | Includes branches, roots, and stumps of trees and other woody plants able to be milled, logs, woodchips, wood products, veneer, tree ferns, and tree fern fibre:". |
| (5) Section 2 (2) of the Forests Amendment Act 1993 is consequentially repealed. | |
3. New sections substituted—(1) The principal Act is amended by repealing section 67A, and substituting the following sections: |
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| "67A. This Part binds the Crown—This Part binds the Crown. | |
| "67AA. Part does not permit felling or harvesting other than in accordance with relevant enactment—In the case of land held, managed, or administered by the Crown under the Conservation Act 1987 or any Act listed in the First Schedule of that Act, this Part does not permit the felling or harvesting of timber other than in accordance with the provisions of the Act under which the land on which the timber is growing is held, managed, or administered." | |
| (2) Section 2 of the Forests Amendment Act (No. 2) 1996 is consequentially repealed. | |
4. Prohibition on export of certain indigenous forest produce—(1) The principal Act is amended by repealing section 67C, and substituting the following section: |
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| "67C. (1) No person may export indigenous timber from New Zealand, except the following: | |
| "(a) | Any indigenous timber, including sawn indigenous timber, woodchips, and logs, where the Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that the timber has been harvested from an area subject to, and managed in accordance with, a registered sustainable forest management plan or registered sustainable forest management permit: |
| "(b) | Any finished or manufactured indigenous timber product, regardless of the source of the timber used in the product: |
| "(c) | Any personal effects: |
| "(d) | Any salvaged stump or salvaged root, whether whole or sawn, where the Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that the timber has been taken from an area that is not indigenous forest land: |
| "(e) | Any tree fern trunk or part of a tree fern trunk, or fibres from a tree fern trunk,— |
| "(i) Where the Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that the timber has been harvested from an area subject to, and managed in accordance with, a registered sustainable forest management plan or registered sustainable forest management permit; or | |
| "(ii) From indigenous forest land, where the Secretary has, subject to subsection (2), given prior approval to the removal of that timber; or | |
| "(iii) Where the Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that the timber has been harvested from land that is not indigenous forest land: | |
| "(f) | Any indigenous timber— |
| "(i) From a planted indigenous forest, if that timber is, or is from, a shrub, bush, seedling, or sapling; or | |
| "(ii) Other than indigenous timber to which subparagraph (i) applies, if the Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that the timber has been harvested from a planted indigenous forest. | |
| "(2) Before giving approval under subsection (1) (e) (ii), the Secretary must be satisfied that the area concerned can continue to supply an annual or periodic non-diminishing yield of tree fern trunks in perpetuity. | |
| "(3) No indigenous timber (other than personal effects) may be exported from New Zealand unless— | |
| "(a) | A notice of intention to export has been given in accordance with any regulations for the time being in force under this Act; and |
| "(b) | The notice of intention includes or is accompanied by a statement of the source of the timber; and |
| "(c) | The timber has been presented to a Forestry Officer for inspection and he or she has inspected and approved it." |
| (2) Section 3 of the Forests Amendment Act 1995 is consequentially repealed. | |
5. Prohibition on milling indigenous timber—(1) Section 67D of the principal Act is amended by repealing subsections (1) and (2), and substituting the following subsections: |
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| "(1) No person may mill any indigenous timber at a sawmill unless the sawmill is registered in accordance with regulations made under section 72, and at least 1 of the following paragraphs applies to the harvesting of the timber: | |
| "(a) | The timber has been harvested from an area of land subject to, and managed in accordance with, a registered sustainable forest management plan or a registered sustainable forest management permit and the harvest is in accordance with that plan or permit: |
| "(b) | The Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that— |
| "(i) The timber has been or will be harvested from— | |
| "(A) | Specified Maori land that is not land on which a forest specified in an Order in Council made under section 67DA is situated; or |
| "(B) | Land held, managed, or administered by the Crown under the Conservation Act 1987 or any Act listed in the First Schedule of that Act; or |
| "(C) | A planted indigenous forest; or |
| "(ii) The timber has been or will be felled— | |
| "(A) | For a public work as defined in the Public Works Act 1981; or |
| "(B) | With the approval of the owner, for a mining operation; or |
| "(C) | For construction or maintenance of an access way or water impoundment, or for a purpose directly necessary or desirable for scientific research; or |
| "(iii) The timber was first milled before 1 July 1993; or | |
| "(iv) The timber is salvaged timber that has been or will be harvested from an area of land that is not indigenous forest land; or | |
| "(v) The timber has been or will be harvested from windthrown trees or trees (whether standing or not) that have died from natural causes on land that is not subject to either a registered sustainable forest management plan or a registered sustainable forest management permit, and that he or she is satisfied that the forest's natural values will be maintained: | |
| "(c) | The timber is a tree fern trunk, or is from a tree fern trunk, and the Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that the timber has been or will be harvested from an area of land that is not indigenous forest land: |
| "(d) | The timber is a tree fern trunk, or is from a tree fern trunk, and has been or will be harvested, with the prior written approval of the Secretary, from an area of land that is not subject to either a registered sustainable forest management plan or a registered sustainable forest management permit. |
| "(2) Before giving an approval under subsection (1) (d), the Secretary must be satisfied that the area concerned can continue to supply an annual or periodic non-diminishing yield of tree fern trunks in perpetuity, and that yield must include the harvesting of windthrown ferns or dead ferns as they become available." | |
| (2) The following provisions are consequentially repealed: | |
| (a) | Section 4 of the Forests Amendment Act 1995: |
| (b) | Section 3 of the Forests Amendment Act (No. 2) 1996. |
6. New sections and heading inserted—The principal Act is amended by inserting, after section 67D, the following sections and heading: |
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| "67DA. Forests on specified Maori land to which sawmill controls apply—(1) The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, specify forests on specified Maori land to which section 67D (1) (b) (i) (A) does not apply. | |
| "(2) The Governor-General may make an Order in Council under subsection (1) in relation to a forest only if he or she is satisfied that the owner of the forest has agreed with the Minister to— | |
| "(a) | Surrender the right to mill indigenous timber harvested from the forest; or |
| "(b) | Surrender the right to mill indigenous timber harvested from the forest other than in accordance with a registered sustainable forest management plan or a registered sustainable forest management permit. |
| "Felling Controls | |
| "67DB. Prohibition on felling indigenous timber—Where any land is specified in a registered sustainable forest management plan or a registered sustainable forest management permit as land to which that plan or permit applies, no person may fell indigenous timber on that land except in accordance with that plan or permit or in accordance with an approval given under section 67D (3) if that land is subject to a permit." | |
7. Sustainable forest management plans—Section 67E of the principal Act is amended by repealing subsections (2) and (3), and substituting the following subsections: |
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| "(2) A sustainable forest management plan applies to the area or areas of indigenous forest land specified in that plan. | |
| "(3) A sustainable forest management plan applies to the land specified in that plan,— | |
| "(a) | In the case of a landholding having a term of less than 50 years, for the balance of that term; or |
| "(b) | In any other case, for the period specified in the plan, which period— |
| "(i) Must not be less than 50 years; and | |
| "(ii) May be renewed from time to time in accordance with section 67I." | |
8. Procedure for approval of sustainable forest management plans—(1) Section 67F of the principal Act is amended by repealing subsection (1), and substituting the following subsections: |
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| "(1) The owner of a landholding for an area of indigenous forest land may apply to the Secretary for approval of a draft sustainable forest management plan for all or part of that area. | |
| "(1A) An application may be made by lodging the draft plan at a Ministry office." | |
| (2) Section 67F (2) of the principal Act is amended by omitting the words "land concerned", and substituting the words "area of indigenous forest land specified in the plan as the area of land to which the plan applies". | |
9. Notice requirements—Section 67G of the principal Act is amended by inserting, after the words "forest management plan,", the words "and that approval, amendment, or exemption enables beech to be harvested in coupes of more than 0.5 hectares,". |
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10. Secretary's power to require amendments to plans—(1) Section 67H (1) of the principal Act is amended by repealing paragraph (a), and substituting the following paragraph: |
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| "(a) | To correct the description of the area or areas specified in the plan as the area or areas to which the plan applies:". |
| (2) Section 67H of the principal Act is amended by inserting, after subsection (1), the following subsection: | |
| "(1A) Work for the harvesting of timber (including, but not limited to, the felling of timber and the construction of roads, tracks, or landings) must not be carried out on an area of land specified in a registered sustainable forest management plan unless that work is carried out in accordance with an annual logging plan approved by the Secretary." | |
11. Other provisions relating to review and amendment of sustainable forest management plans—Section 67I (1) (b) (ii) of the principal Act is amended by omitting the word "removal", and substituting the word "harvesting". |
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12. Sustainable forest management plan to be recorded against certificate of title—Section 67K of the principal Act is amended— |
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| (a) | By omitting from subsection (1) the words "to which a sustainable forest management plan relates", and substituting the words "specified in a sustainable forest management plan": |
| (b) | By omitting from subsection (4) the words "to which that plan relates", and substituting the words "specified in that plan": |
| (c) | By omitting from subsection (6) the words "to which it relates", and substituting the words "specified in the plan". |
13. Sustainable forest management permits—(1) The principal Act is amended by repealing section 67M, and substituting the following section: |
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| "67M. (1) An owner of a landholding for an area of indigenous forest land may apply to the Secretary for a sustainable forest management permit for all or part of that area to allow the harvesting and milling of indigenous timber. | |
| "(2) A sustainable forest management permit has effect for 10 years from the date that permit is registered and— | |
| "(a) | Authorises the harvesting and milling of indigenous timber in accordance with the permit from an area within the area of land specified in the permit; and |
| "(b) | Specifies the area of land to which the permit applies; and |
| "(c) | Specifies the quantity of timber fixed by the Secretary (being timber capable of being milled irrespective of its quality) that may be harvested and milled in accordance with the permit. |
| "(3) A sustainable forest management permit must not authorise the harvesting and milling of more than 10% of the quantity of indigenous timber (excluding roots) capable of being milled standing on the area of land specified in the permit; and the quantity of indigenous timber authorised by that permit to be harvested and milled must not include more than— | |
| "(a) | 250 cubic metres of podocarp or kauri or shade-tolerant, exposure-sensitive, broadleaved hardwood species; and |
| "(b) | 500 cubic metres of beech or other light-demanding hardwood species. |
| "(4) A second or subsequent sustainable forest management permit must not be issued in respect of any podocarp or kauri or shade-tolerant, exposure-sensitive, broadleaved hardwood species unless and until the Secretary is satisfied that the quantity of indigenous timber (being timber capable of being milled, irrespective of its quality, but excluding roots) standing in the area to which the permit will apply is at least equivalent to the quantity standing in the area at the date of the grant of the previous permit. | |
| "(5) A sustainable forest management permit expires 18 months after the date of issue of the permit unless it is registered before the close of that period. | |
| "(6) The Secretary must not grant a permit for an area of indigenous forest land that is specified— | |
| "(a) | In a sustainable forest management plan as an area of land to which that plan applies; or |
| "(b) | In a permit, issued within the previous 18 months, as an area to which that permit applies; or |
| "(c) | In a permit, registered within the previous 10 years, as an area to which the permit applies. |
| "(7) The provisions of sections 67F (2), 67H (1A), (2), and (3), 67I, 67K, and 67L and the provisions and prescriptions set out in clauses 8, 9, and 10 of the Second Schedule, with the necessary modifications, apply— | |
| "(a) | To every proposal under this section as if it were a draft sustainable forest management plan; and |
| "(b) | To every permit under this section as if it were a sustainable forest management plan." |
| (2) Section 6 of the Forests Amendment Act 1995 is consequentially repealed. | |
14. Records—(1) Section 67Q (1) of the principal Act is amended by inserting, after paragraph (a), the following paragraphs: |
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| "(aa) | Timber harvested from areas of land subject to a sustainable forest management permit; and |
| "(ab) | Timber harvested under any provision in Part 2 of the Forests Amendment Act 1999; and". |
| (2) Section 67Q (2) of the principal Act is amended by adding the words "or permit". | |
15. Powers of entry and seizure—Section 67R (e) of the principal Act is amended by omitting the words "is being or about to be removed", and substituting the words "is about to be, is being, or has been milled or exported, or has been felled or harvested,". |
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16. Offences—Section 67T of the principal Act is amended by repealing paragraph (f), and substituting the following paragraphs: |
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| "(f) | Carries out work on an area of land subject to a registered sustainable forest management plan, or a registered sustainable forest management permit, other than in accordance with an annual logging plan approved under section 67H or on an area of land subject to a permit, an approval under section 67D (3); or |
| "(fa) | Transports, mills, chips, cuts for firewood, or pulps any timber harvested from an indigenous forest, knowing that the timber is about to be, is being, or has been felled, harvested, milled, or exported in contravention of this Part; or |
| "(fb) | Fells any indigenous timber on land subject to a registered sustainable forest management plan, or a registered sustainable forest management permit, other than in accordance with that plan or permit or other than in accordance with an approval given under section 67D (3); or". |
17. Relationship of Part with Resource Management Act 1991—(1) The principal Act is amended by repealing section 67V, and substituting the following section: |
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| "67V. Nothing in this Part derogates from any provision of the Resource Management Act 1991." | |
| (2) Section 8 of the Forests Amendment Act 1995 is consequentially repealed. | |
| PART 2 | |
| Transitional Provisions | |
18. Interpretation—In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires,— |
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| "Affected forests" means the forests listed in the Schedule and identified by a description of the land on which the forest is situated, being West Coast indigenous production forests in the Buller subregion: | |
| "Total allowable harvest" means the quantity of logs specified in section 24 as able to be milled from affected forests. | |
19. This Part binds the Crown—This Part binds the Crown. |
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| Transitional Provision for Export of Timber | |
20. Transitional provision for export of indigenous timber from West Coast indigenous production forests—(1) Where the Minister consents in writing to the export of indigenous timber under this section, the provisions of this section apply during the period applicable under subsection (2) in place of section 67C of the principal Act (as amended by section 4 of this Act) so long as the export complies with any conditions to which the Minister's consent is subject. |
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| (2) The Minister may consent to an export of indigenous timber from a West Coast indigenous production forest (other than an affected forest) if— | |
| (a) | The export takes place on or before the earlier of— |
| (i) 31 December 2000; or | |
| (ii) The date on which the Secretary approves a sustainable forest management plan that applies to the land on which the forest is situated; and | |
| (b) | The Minister is satisfied that the forest is being managed in a manner that is generally consistent with sustainable forest management. |
| (3) The Minister's consent given under subsection (2) may be subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit. | |
| Transitional Provisions for Milling of Timber | |
21. Transitional provision for milling of timber from West Coast indigenous production forests—Section 67D of the principal Act (as amended by section 5 of this Act) does not apply to the milling of indigenous timber from a West Coast indigenous production forest (other than an affected forest) until the earlier of— |
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| (a) | 31 December 2000; or |
| (b) | The date on which the Secretary approves a sustainable forest management plan that applies to the land on which the forest is situated. |
22. Application of sections 23 and 24 to affected forests—Sections 23 and 24 apply to indigenous timber if the Secretary has stated in writing that he or she is satisfied that the timber has been harvested from an affected forest. |
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23. Transitional provisions to apply for fixed time or fixed harvest—(1) Section 67D of the principal Act (as amended by section 5 of this Act) does not apply to the milling of indigenous timber from affected forests until the earlier of— |
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| (a) | 1 January 2001; or |
| (b) | The date the Secretary publishes a notice in the Gazette in accordance with subsection (2). |
| (2) The Secretary must, when he or she is satisfied that a quantity of indigenous timber from affected forests, equal to or exceeding the total allowable harvest specified in section 24, has been milled at sawmills, publish a notice in the Gazette to that effect. | |
24. Establishment of total allowable harvest—The total allowable harvest of indigenous timber from affected forests for the period beginning on 1 January 1999 and ending with 31 December 2000 is 45 596 cubic metres of logs. |
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25. Compensation—(1) No person is entitled to compensation from the Crown in respect of any diminution, by reason of the enactment of this Act, in— |
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| (a) | The rights, or value of the rights, of that person under a contract relating to indigenous timber on any specified Maori land or from a West Coast indigenous production forest (including an affected forest); or |
| (b) | The value of indigenous timber on any specified Maori land or from a West Coast indigenous production forest (including an affected forest); or |
| (c) | The value of any specified Maori land. |
| (2) This section is subject to section 26. | |
26. Power to specify criteria and method of assessment in relation to payment of assistance—(1) The Governor-General may, by Order in Council, specify the criteria and methods of assessment that must be applied by the Crown in determining any claim for financial losses suffered in relation to a specified contract as a direct result of the enactment of section 4. |
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| (2) In this section, "specified contract" means a written contract that— | |
| (a) | Relates to the export of indigenous timber harvested from a West Coast indigenous production forest (including an affected forest) or from specified Maori land; and |
| (b) | Was entered into before 13 July 1999, being the date on which this Act was introduced as a Bill into the House of Representatives. |
27. Variation of Schedule—The Governor-General may from time to time, by Order in Council, amend the description of land for any forest listed in the Schedule. |
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28. Revocation of clause 4 of Customs Export Prohibition Order 1996—(1) Clause 4 of the Customs Export Prohibition Order 1996 (S.R. 1996/233) is revoked. |
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| (2) Any decision made by the Minister in reliance upon clause 4 of the Customs Export Prohibition Order 1996 is, and always has been, valid. | |
29. Relationship of Part with Resource Management Act 1991—Nothing in this Part derogates from any provision of the Resource Management Act 1991. |
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Contact for Enquiries
Policy Analyst - Forestry
Innovation and Research
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Tel: +64 4 894 0100
Fax: +64 4 894 0741
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