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MAF ETS Presentation to Territorial Local Authorities

Wellington 6 November 2007

Presenters: Bryan Smith, Julie Collins, Andrew Sweet.

Participants: 12 (CEOs, council staff in the areas of strategy/policy/economic development/LTCCP/RMA planning/reserves/coastal environment, and a councillor).

The following are key points made by participants.

Participants' key areas of interest:

• Strategic planning and policy.
• LTCCP and District Plan implications (e.g. subdivision and land development, urban issues and land use, coastal environment).
• Implications for agriculture.
• Implications for forestry, including Council-owned forests and indigenous reserves.
• Opportunities e.g. revenue-generation for farming and forestry businesses.
• Implications for energy exploration and extraction.
• Here for fact finding.

Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in general:

• Concern about additional costs on the end user, like farmers who can't pass it on.
• Everyone will be affected, not just farmers.
• Concern about apparent lack of info re economic and social implications, e.g. apparent trust that markets will buy NZ milk.
• The potential of the 'grey market' was noted, albeit it is confusing with respect to the Kyoto unit market.
• Interest in impacts on the waste sector.

Forestry and the ETS:

• Noted councils' potential third party deforestation liabilities e.g. for new setbacks, transmission line clear zones.
• Questions about enforcement, alternative species, definition of 'forest', indigenous forests.

Agriculture and the ETS:

• Concern about costs falling on farmers. Interest in what assistance will be provided to farmers.
• ETS is but one of the issues facing farmers, and the choices to be made by farmers and foresters are huge and life-changing. People resist change.
• Question about effects on international competitiveness.
• Questions about nitrogen trading.
• Reticence about uptake of Overseer.
• Alternative models to Overseer exist, e.g. Octopus.

Plan of Action:

• Feeling that the funding is light.
• Need leadership for change.

Consultation, Engagement and Information Needs:

• Suggestion of roadshows to TLAs. Some are still climate change sceptics.
• Linkages with ICLEI would be logical.
• Interest in what key messages TLAs need to get out to communities [Sustainability. The markets will demand it].
• TLAs' new decision-makers need to be able to argue the case convincingly.
• Need clear, simple, easily-communicated messages from MAF that can be passed on to the community.
• Information on websites maybe not effective enough. Simple video might help.
• Desire for information about what the ETS means for TLAs and communities. Helpful if it comes from a 3rd party with authority.
• Desire for guidelines for district planning, e.g. issues that need thought, response, planning for.
• Desire for information about options for farmers and foresters.

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Contact for Enquiries

Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change
MAF
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)
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