5th October 2020 Newsletter
PRESIDENTS COLUMN
I was very please to announce our NZIF awards at the AGM and would once again like to congratulate Bruce Manley (Kirk Horn), Julie Collins (Forester of the Year) and Adrian Loo (Prince of Wales Sustainability Cup) for the awards. All are very deserving candidates. While it was pleasing to announce the awards it also drove home the major effect Covid is having on society. Due to the conference being cancelled we could not celebrate as we usually do with the awards dinner. Hopefully we will be able to acknowledge these awards at the awards dinner in 2021.
I would also like to acknowledge the two new Fellows who were announced at the AGM. Dennis Neilson and Bill Liley both achieved the required votes to become Fellows. Becoming a Fellow is a recognition by their peers they are worthy, achieving the required vote is difficult. Congratulations both of you.
I would like to thank Peter Hill (VP) and Raewyn (Administrator) for all their efforts in organising the CPD session and AGM. I am sure those who attended in person would all agree it was a great location and all CPD presentations were excellent. I would like to thank Julie and her team at MPI for presenting most of the CPD sessions which were informative, but also allowed for discussion, questions and answers to take place throughout the presentations. Further I would like to thank Andrew McEwen (past President) and Peter Casey (Chair Registration Board) for presenting on the new Code of Conduct and the reasons for it.
I was pleased to see the new Code of Conduct be approved by the AGM. We now need to get sign off from the Ministry of Justice and then we can replace this new code with the current one. If you are unaware of the new code please email Raewyn to get a copy or follow the link below, and we will let you know once the new code goes live.
Motion to adopt revised Code of Ethics
The second motion to reduce council size was not approved by a narrow margin. We allowed votes via Zoom and found out after the AGM some people were signed on but not actually at the vote. However they were counted as abstaining, and part of total voting pool. This may have effected the vote and highlights we need a process for using Zoom to vote; which council will form before the next AGM. Zoom is an excellent way of allowing more members attend the AGM, but it does have its downfalls unless processes are clearly defined in advance.
I was upset to have to announce the cancellation of the MP debate which was to occur this week. Electioneering seems to have got in the way for a number of the forestry spokespeople. We are now planning to hold this debate soon after the election and this will be a good time to challenge whichever parties form Government on their policies as well as ensure the opposition are well aware what we, the sector, require of them over the next 3 (or maybe 4) years.
As always I look forward to hearing from you on any topics. Thank you to those members who sought me out at the AGM to let me know their concerns, approvals or just discuss potential next steps. I have been saying for several weeks now this is your Institute and you need to let us (the council) know what you want to see us do or work towards. If not me, then speak to your nearest councillor or even better start a debate in this newsletter. We need to debate issues to reach consensus.
The election will be over by the time the next newsletter is delivered to you. I hope all of you will vote and I look forward to working with the next Government to ensure Forestry has its deserved day in the sun.
Thanks
James
MEMBERS VOICE
Hi all,
James' prompt & Marcus Musson’s recent posts have finally encouraged me to stick my head above the parapet, don't shoot me please. Feel free to come & have a coffee to discuss.
As a passionate Forester/ Registered Member/ Forest Owner & Forest Management business owner I give a fair bit of thought to the state of play of the industry I really enjoy being part of. There's a bit going on at the moment - Shane Jones reckons we are all rogues & compulsory registration is on it’s way, other primary land use associations have been taking their pot shots, we’ve had some environmental outcomes which haven’t been our best work & mean while we have got back on the export volatility roller coaster in the last 15 months. So yeah, nah, good.
What the Forest Industry seems to lack in 2020 to me is the ability to effectively influence - Politicians, local authorities, the public perception.
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Members Voice
Have your say?? Ideas, thoughts or advice?? Send it through to admin@nzif.org.nz
INSTITUTE NEWS
Council member
Murray has an M.Sc. (Hons) in Zoology from Auckland University, specialising in the neural control of cardiac function in fishes. He has spent five years with the Environmental Co-ordinator’s office of the DSIR, providing scientific and technical advice to the Minister of Science on topical environmental issues, including RMA reform, mining, forestry, Antarctic environmental protection and climate change.
Murray has spent 23 years with Carter Holt Harvey in a range of Australasian environmental management roles, including for the forestry, wood products, and pulp, paper and packaging divisions. He contributed to the ERMA-led review of CCA-treated wood, which re-registered it for use as a safe and efficacious product.
He is the elected company representative on the Boards of PacNZ and the Paper Forum, with an interest in maintaining, enhancing and promoting the readily recyclable attributes of paper and paper packaging.
Council responsibilities are: NZIF Submissions, Forest Policy
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Latest NZ Journal of Forestry is On-line
Find the latest NZ Journal of Forestry here
FORESTRY EVENTS
The Future Foresters have re-booked their postponed Mental Health First Aid courses.
This is open to anyone who wants to attend and we encourage all NZIF members to think about who in your workplace or within your contractor connections would benefit from attending and direct them towards this course.
While most New Zealanders are comfortable openly discussing physical health, the stigma of talking about mental health remains.
We are rolling out events throughout NZ and hope to see you all there for an afternoon of learning followed by some open invite "networking"
This course is free for participants and we encourage all areas of the sector to attend! The course is limited to 20 so to reserve your spot please contact your local Regional Leader or jump across to our Facebook page and click attending.
Dunedin: 30th October
Nelson: 23rd October
Wellington: 30th October
Hawke's Bay: 2nd October
Rotorua: 16th October
#futureforesters
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2020 Forest Growers Conference
The 2020 Forest Growers Conference will be a series of webinars this year on the 13th – 15th October 2020. The webinars will highlight achievements from an extensive research programme spanning the value chain from tree breeding to harvesting.
These webinars will be focused on delivering research outcomes for forestry companies, farm foresters, consultants and interest groups to implement into their business activities.
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WoodWorks 2020 Conference
20-21 October 2020, Rotorua
The program has a focus on completed projects from New Zealand and Australia. Each year we also showcase an inspirational wood expert from leading tall timber exemplar building projects overseas. For 2020 a world class architect from the iconic Brock Commons building in Vancouver will be our keynote speaker. Read more
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Do financial reports adequately disclose extreme wildfire risk?
Presented by Professor Paul Griffin
Lectures, talks and seminars
CAGTR Business Links Seminar
29 Oct 2020 5:30 pm to 29 Oct 2020 7:00 pm
Rutherford House LT1 (RHLT1)
Wildfires pose a significant risk that threatens firm value. That risk may have risen significantly in recent years in light of record-breaking wildfires in the United States and elsewhere.
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Mental Health & Wellbeing - run by Red Cross
Location and Time: OneFortyOne office 58A Gladstone Road, Richmond. 12-4pm on the 6th of November.
The course is free (Sponsored by OFO)
While most New Zealanders are comfortable openly discussing physical health, the stigma of talking about mental health remains.
When the struggle is not visible, it’s the moment we need to communicate the most, but the very time we find it most difficult.
After attending the course participants will:
Develop an understanding of mental health, mental distress and mental illness and how it affects family/whānau and work colleagues.
Gain a support process and practical skills of the Look, Listen, Link framework to help someone who may need mental health support.
Leave with tools to create a positive mental health environment in the workplace
If any members are keen to attend please email Christoph.Riedel@onefortyone.co.nz
IN THE NEWS
SNI NEWS UPDATE
This has been a challenging year for us with many of our events canceled and our school activities put on hold constantly throughout the year. A real disappointment was canceling our annual Training Awards, and we have missed seeing everyone get together this year. We will be back! Read more
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Survey on the Impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic on temperate and boreal forests.
The recent emergence of the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic and its massive impact across the globe has had many effects on people, the environment and economies. We are interested in its impacts on temperate and boreal forests – that make up 43% of the world’s forests. Impacts may be on the forests themselves or on people, communities and businesses associated with the forests.
We have used the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators framework (www.montrealprocess.org) to develop a survey that covers a broad range of possible impacts on these forests including biological diversity; productive capacity; forest health and vitality; soil and water; carbon stocks and fluxes; socio-economic aspects; and legal, institutional, and economic frameworks. We would appreciate your input to the survey which can be found in the surveymonkey link.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JST856V
All responses will be anonymous and we will present the findings at the 15th World Forestry Congress in Korea in May 2021.
The survey is being carried out by members of the Technical Advisory Committee of the Montreal Process (https://www.montrealprocess.org/The_Montreal_Process/Technical_Advisory_Committee).
If you have any questions about the survey please contact Tim Barnard tim.barnard@scionresearch.com
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ICF Newsletter – September 2020
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MPI - Te Uru Rakau news
Industry transformation Plan
Over the next six months Te Uru Rākau will be hosting a series of workshops and meetings to gain feedback from people across the forestry and wood products supply chain on its Industry Transformation Plan (ITP). Read more
