Legislation introduced to restrict farm-to-forest conversions
Friday 13 Jun 2025
Agriculture and Forestry Minister, Todd McClay, this week
introduced long awaited legislation that will put a stop to large-scale
farm-to-forestry conversions – delivering on a key
election promise to protect the future of New Zealand food production.
“For too long, productive sheep and beef farms have been replaced
by pine trees in the race for carbon credits. That ends under this
Government,” Mr McClay says. “The Climate Change
Response (Emissions Trading Scheme - Forestry Conversions) Amendment
Bill will restrict wholesale conversions of farmland to exotic forestry
by stopping LUC 1-5 land from entering the ETS and capping new ETS
registrations on LUC 6 land.
“It will also protect farmers’ ability to diversify –
allowing up to 25 per cent of a farm to go into trees, while stopping
the kind of blanket ETS planting that’s been gutting rural
communities in places like the East Coast, Wairarapa, the King Country,
and Southland.”
As previously announced, the new restrictions will take effect
from 4 December 2024. The law will:
- Restrict farm conversions to exotic ETS forests on high-to-medium
versatility farmland (LUC classes 1-6)
- A limit of 15,000 hectares per year for exotic conversions on medium
versality farmland (LUC class 6)
- The annual limit of 15,000 hectares for LUC 6 farmland will be
allocated by a ballot process, including a reserved quota for small
block holders, with the first ballot proposed to be held in mid-2026.
- Allow for up to 25 per cent of a farm’s LUC 1-6 land to still
be planted in exotic forestry for the ETS, ensuring farmers retain
flexibility and choice.
- Protect specific categories of Māori-owned land, in line with Treaty
obligations
- The Bill proposes time-limited transitional exemptions in rare cases
for people who were in the process of afforestation prior to these
changes originally being announced on 4 December 2024.
- To be eligible for a transitional exemption, applicants need to show
sufficient evidence that they made a qualifying forestry investment
between 1 January 2021 and 4 December 2024.
- Transactions that commenced after this date will not be eligible to
register in the ETS.
- The applicant will need to demonstrate that the investment relates
to the specific Land Use Capability (LUC) class 1–6 land they are
applying to register in the ETS.
- Registry of 25 per cent of LUC 1-6 land will be registered against
the properties title to restrict further planting as a result of
subdivision.
“Labour’s careless ETS settings turbocharged the sell-off of
our farming base. They let speculators put short-term profits ahead of
long-term food production. That was careless – and it ends
now,” Mr McClay says.
“This Government is backing farmers, restoring balance, and making
sure the ETS doesn’t come at the cost of New Zealand’s rural
economy.
“This policy is pro-farming, pro-food production, pro-commercial
forestry and pro-rural New Zealand.”
The legislation is now before Parliament and is to come into force
October 2025.
For more information: Forestry ETS Changes
Source: Beehive.govt.nz
|
