PRESIDENTS COLUMN
Please accept my apologies for the lack of Presidents Column in the last newsletter, I was struck down by Covid and could not pull myself out of bed to write it. My apologies.
There is a lot I need to cover this week so please take the time to read this column.
First, I want to put a plug in for the Auckland committee working hard on the upcoming conference in September 11-13. They are putting a fantastic program together with some great speakers. Jeremy has a section on the conference in this newsletter and will continue to have one in the future. Please read them and I encourage as many members as possible to attend. We are also looking for sponsorship, so if you or your organisation would like to be associated with this conference, then please contact me. Next years conference is ANZIF held in Australia, so this conference will be the last opportunity for 18 months or so for us to gather at a national conference in NZ. I encourage you to get the dates in your calendar and to book early once registration opens.
On the 6th of August the Forest Advisors registration scheme will come into force. Many members are aware I have grave concerns about this scheme currently. MPI have not shown us any clarity on how the scheme will be funded, the total cost of running the scheme and what NZIF’s role will be, if any. Further to me the scheme does not look like it will raise professionalism in the immediate future, but rather be used as a stick to penalise bad behaviour. I have a major concern about the cost of this scheme to members and have been working hard with the committee working on this to limit additional cost to our members caused by the introduction of this scheme. Again, at the time of writing, I have no clarity what costs members will face but will be keeping you informed on this as we get clarity from MPI.
I must point out, whilst the scheme will be in place by 6 August, you will have 12 months to register; as such I encourage members not to register until we have clarity on fees for members. I must also point out at this stage NZIF has not accepted delegation of authority to run the scheme. Whilst members have agreed in principle to us accepting delegation to do so we will need to adjust our rules which will need members approval. The working committee does not consider we are in the position to consider delegation there is still a large lack of clarity around who is a forest advisor, what the budget is, the cost of running the scheme etc etc. It would be fair to say the process has been frustrating and very time consuming.
As of 01 June the council elected earlier this year takes over. We will be holding an induction and strategy session early June to set goals for the council term. If members have particular items they would like council to consider please send me your ideas. However, please acknowledge the council work is all voluntary, as such we are limited by time and we do rely on members to help push key items to conclusion.
I had the privilege of attending the last FRESTRA dinner in Rotorua. FRESTRA have kindly donated a large proportion of their cash reserves to our SIG - Future Foresters. This donation will set the Future Foresters up for a great and long future. At the dinner Alfred Duval announced the formation of the FRESTRA Future Forester of the year award and I look forward to the award being announced at the NZIF awards dinner in September. I have always been concerned about how we manage to keep future foresters going post the current amazing committee which set it up. I am therefore very pleased to see the call for committee members and the interest this has received from our younger foresters. Personally I feel future foresters are pivotal to our sectors success and they are also the future of NZIF; evidenced clearly by Adrian Loo becoming a councillor and Treasurer of NZIF after his term on the Future Foresters committee. To those on the Future Foresters committee who are leaving I want to thank you for the excellent work you have done. You should be rightfully proud of the significant change you have made to the forestry sector.
Speaking of awards it is time for you to be thinking about who should be the NZIF Forester of the year; and who should receive the Kirk Horn award. We will be getting nominations out soon for Forester of the year and I would be very pleased to receive recommendations for the Kirk Horn award. We also would like to award the The Prince of Wales Award for Sustainable Forestry cup again to a an outstanding young professional; if you are under 30, please consider putting you name forward for nomination for this award. Further information on all awards is on our website.
As you can see there is much on. As always don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions, concerns or just want to chat. I enjoy hearing from members and always want to ensure members feel heard. The council and I are here for you, as such we need to hear from you what it is you want us doing (or not doing).
Have a safe fortnight
Thanks
James
