Our place: Money for kauri urgently needed

The Tree Council, Waitakere Ranges Protection Society and Forest & Bird have written to a number of Government ministers to request the funding Regional Councils urgently need to implement essential work to protect kauri.

The three groups say that the Ministry for Primary Industries has failed to deliver the National Pest Management Plan and Kauri Dieback Management Agency despite two years of public consultation on the proposals and the government has taken its responsibility for managing the national Kauri Dieback Management Programme off the ministry. MPI’s bid to cabinet for a business as usual programme failed this year and they are now not funded to manage any of this work.

In its place, the Regional Councils led by Northland and including Auckland and Waikato have stepped up to fill the void, manage the national programme and implement the outcomes of the draft National Pest Management Plan. The three groups believe that this will be a huge step forward in the protection of kauri, filling the void that has been present for the last decade.

The Regional Councils are to bear the costs of administering and managing the programme themselves, avoiding the need for a national Management Agency to do this and saving the government an estimated $20-60m. The proposal by Northland Regional Council will also create 100 jobs in the community to do the work on the ground.

However, in order for the Regional Councils to be able to do this work effectively they need financial support from the government to fund operational work such as surveillance, vector control, hygiene and track upgrades.

The Tree Council’s Secretary Dr Mels Barton says “This is the best news for kauri that we’ve had in a decade.

“It is fantastic that the Regional Councils have stepped up to take control of implementing all the actions we have been demanding that MPI do for so long. The government needs to urgently support them by funding this work to give kauri a fighting chance of survival. Any further delays will threaten the future of this taonga and bring it to the brink of extinction. In New Zealand’s Covid recovery what better gift to the nation than the protection of this iconic and unique species,” Mels says.

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A new conservation website has been launched to connect communities and answer the public’s questions about conservation projects around the region.

Have you ever wanted to know what environmental activities are happening in your area or where your closest local community group to become involved with is? Have you been wanting to learn how to take action in your backyard to enhance the natural environment?

Auckland Council’s conservation website Tiaki Tāmaki Makaurau | Conservation Auckland gives answers to all those questions. The site is a collaboration between mana whenua, the Department of Conservation, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research and Forest & Bird, along with input from many of the region’s conservation community.

“The newly created website helps Aucklanders to do good for conservation by providing them the tools and knowledge to take action to protect and improve the natural environment,” says Councillor Richard Hills, Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Committee.

The new site provides resources readily available to groups and the public to promote and grow effective and responsible conservation practices across the region.

You can find the site at https://www.

tiakitamakimakaurau.nz/