11th April 2022 Newsletter
PRESIDENTS COLUMN
This week a small group of NZIF members, including myself gave up a day of our time to meet with the MPI team forming the Forest Advisors Registration scheme. A key discussion point is will the scheme improve professionalism. I am not yet convinced it will. Nevertheless; it is the goal of the Act and over time hopefully it may.
People who advise on forestry matters will be able to register on the 6th of August this year. However they won’t have to register until the 6th August 2023. Therefore at this stage I recommend to members they hold off registering until there is more clarity around what is required and how the scheme will work. I am well aware there is concern about the cost of the scheme and some members feel they will be paying twice; once to NZIF and then being forced to pay again by the new act. With this in mind we are looking for a way for members to get automatic registration into the Forest Advisors or even potentially we will look for an exemption for members if we feel registering into the advisors scheme will not improve professionalism or benefit members. As such I encourage you all to pay this years fees which have just been sent out.
This is a difficult time for NZIF. We want to support anything which improves professionalism, this is why we are working with MPI on this scheme. Whether we like it or not it Registration will be a legal requirement. For the Forest Advisors registration scheme to be successful in its goal of improved professionalism it must have a robust Code of Ethics, it must have clear and up to date Standards and it must have a fair and robust complaints system. These are things NZIF currently have, but we have them as a result of members hard work over many years. In other words they are our IP, and I do not intend to give them away.
Our other concern is the lack of funds to run this scheme. It seems there is little to no new funding coming out of Government and therefore the scheme must be funded out of fees. As far as I am concerned this is unsatisfactory. It was the Government who put this scheme in place for the benefit of the public, as such I feel the Government should be funding at least the initial set up of the scheme, including the purchase of standards where required.
We will keep you fully informed as we continue talks with MPI. This scheme will effect almost every single member and I know it is important to you and your livelihoods. I am very happy to get any thoughts and advice from members. We must ensure this scheme is not a detriment to our members and we must ensure it will improve professionalism. Otherwise what is the point.
Thanks
James
INSTITUTE UPDATES
Presenters discuss Log Exports and Fumigations - Webinar
Were you unable to attend? Click on the link to view the presentation Click here
From the Registrar
SUCCESSFUL 5 YEAR REGISTRATION REVIEW
Continuing Registration:
· John Schrider of Carterton
· Peter Casey of Auckland
SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION FOR REGISTERED MEMBER
The following Member is now a Registered Member:
· Bill Davies of Tauranga
· Sarah Helleur of Christchurch
· Jack Palmer of Wellington
Any member of the NZIF has the right to object to an application. Any objection should be lodged with the Registrar registrar@nzif.org.nz within 20 working days of the first appearance (11 April 2022) of the notice in this newsletter, specifying the grounds for the objection.
REGISTRATION REVIEWS 2022
The following members are due for 5-year review of their status as a Registered Member during 2022;
· Kevin Reardon
· David Evison
· Mark Morice
· Mort Shepherd
· Vern Harris
· Kenneth Tsang
· Paul Molloy
· Damian Byrne
· Peter Wilks
· Stephen Chandler
· Jessica Brown
· Mike Duckett
· Adam Mills
· Simon Papps
If you haven’t already, please make a start on the review procedure by filling out the online form and submitting it early in the year so that everyone’s review gets completed before December 2022.
USE OF NZIF WEBSITE FOR APPLICATIONS, ANNUAL DECLARATIONS AND CPD.
All applications for 5-year Reviews and New Applications for Registered Member status should be made using the online facility on the NZIF website (must be logged in and go to the “Members Only” section). Note that if you do not have time to complete the application in one session there is a “Save” facility that allows you to come back and complete it before submitting.
When you have completed your application you should Submit it otherwise it will remain as Draft and will not progress. Once you have submitted your application you need to make sure your referees respond in a timely manner. You are responsible for ensuring your referees respond.
The annual declaration for Code of Ethics/Professional Indemnity/Real Estate experience can be entered online once the previous year’s tick boxes have been cleared. Go to your Profile and click on APC (Annual Practising Certificate) and populate the boxes appropriately. All RM’s need to use the online entry from now on. NZIF Admin will advise when the tick boxes are ready to be populated. These are ready for this year.
CPD – is still entered online but is Submitted only once each year, as at the end of December. Saving your CPD is not the same as Submitting it. Once it has been Submitted you cannot edit it but if something goes awry please get in touch and we will get Admin to assist.
When entering CPD please be aware of the following;
· Make sure each entry has a Title etc and a brief Description to enable auditing.
· It is not necessary to upload a resume of the session, just a summary will do please.
· Check the categories. The NZIF AGM, for example, is Unstructured.
· Regular meetings with industry groups etc are Unstructured.
· First aid courses and ATV/driver training do not count towards CPD.
· Reading does not count.
· On line learning should be referenced so that the link can be checked if required.
· Be aware of using BAS (business as usual) as CPD and using multiple presentations of the same subject.
· While your CPD is approved on an annual basis this does not necessarily mean that you are fulfilling your 5- year CPD requirements.
· Only submit your CPD after you have entered it all, not piece by piece.
· When it is all entered and you are happy with it, then press the Submit button.
Alan Bell, Registrar
NZIF Registration Board
registrar@nzif.org.nz
+64 27 444 7779
11 April 2022
MEMBERS VOICE
“History repeating a century later”
Well done Andrew McEwen – “History repeating a century later”
As we would expect of Andrew, thought provoking and a timely reminder history provides steerage to the future
It will not have escaped many foresters the challenges of successfully establishing native forests to the extent supported by submitters to the Climate Change Commission.
The execution is likely to be somewhat less than the wish list, unless Government is prepared to dig significantly in to the war chest. Successful establishment of native forests requires high quality sites of easy access. Indeed the most successful proposition will be on the best quality land the farmers will not want to see in trees.
The need for pests control eluded to by the Commission cannot be understated, but will rank directly along aside the challenges of weed control, perhaps they meant one in the same. Of all the tinkering we see of the ETS, the likely one that will be required to meet the 300,000ha challenge lies with the forest definition as it relates to the minimum 5m height rule. Thus, some significant areas of reversion could more prudently enter the race to zero carbon values by 2050 with farm animals and pests removed.
The chasm between desire and execution here is perverse in the extreme and unlikely to be bridged unless the combination of rule settings and NZ Inc funding go hand in hand.
Those whose minds dwell in the clouds will be needing to look earthward rather than await divine intervention. Engagement with practitioners who have both feet firmly planted on the realities of meeting that challenge will be essential.
Perhaps, as in the case of the early days of the NZ Forest Service, we will need a major depression and or war and a large number of people looking for work at low pay rates. For without that, our ability to re-execute the plan might remain a pipe dream.
Allan Laurie MNZIF; Registered Forestry Consultant; Managing Director
''Better Management on Forestry Incentives"
The 03 March announcements by EPA on the ''Better Management on Forestry Incentives" shows the extent of NZIF and NZFOA failure to tell the good news story about forestry.
I have received the criticism that NZIF is a Gentlepersons Club where no one wants to cause offense. I had to agree, NZIF and FOA are pathetic defending their patch compared to the mongrels in Federated Farmers and the piranhas in the commercial fishing industry.
An illustration, FOA and NZIF have never defended the benefits of wilding pines that have, and are being subjected, to a litany of lies, distortions ,slander and many other forms of misinformation. This Putinesque pogrom has transmogrified into anti-tree hate groups spreading their poison to all conifers and now there is a new trend slagging exotic hardwoods. We now have a Govt funding both the destruction and planting of trees at vast expense based in the same office.
My view is that wilding conifers could fund a billion dollar per year pest control effort to control the animals that are destroying our native forests, most of which are in poor and deteriorating condition. Protecting native forests should be a matter of great spiritual importance to the membership.Those wilding forests could get us to Net Zero Emissions in 10-15 years as well as provide all the other benefits that forests provide.
I note the latest IPCC report says the effects of climate change are coming quicker and harder. We, the planet, need every tree that we can grow.
Why Labour has crumbled to pressure from the farming sector who is not their natural electorate is a mystery.
For better or worse the ETS has pushed farm values up by $5-10k/ha, so it is also a mystery why farmers want to now decrease land values. They are turkeys voting to have a Christmas day every month.
We have a price on emission, which is around $75/tonne. Farmers produce emissions at a rate of around 40 million tonnes/year so they are being subsidised at a rate of $3 billion/year. Farmers want the taxpayer to subsidise their emissions and other activities and now they want to block the one thing that can offset those emissions.
Caving into anti-forestry nutters like Groundswill, 50 Shades of Stupidity, Beef and Lamb and other anti-forestry miscreants, Forestry Minister Nash has failed our planet, our country, our sector and himself
Regards
Owen Springford
Members Voice
Have something to say? comments? or just want to exchange idea's, then send an email to admin@nzif.org.nz
