Minister of Forestry, Todd McClay, has welcomed a decision by forestry sector representatives to drop Judicial Review proceedings related to the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) fees.
“The Judicial Review was initiated in response to the excessive fees imposed on the forestry sector by the previous Government,” Mr McClay says.
“The previous Labour government made a number of decisions that drove up the cost of ETS Registry and they expected the forestry sector to blindly pay for their mistakes.
“The National-led coalition Government has worked hard to rebuild confidence in the forestry sector over the past 12 months.
“We have been working collaboratively with the sector to ensure we get the settings right to restore trust to the over 4,300 forestry participants in the ETS registry.
“Last year we announced that the cost of participating in the ETS registry would be reduced by 50 percent for forest owners, and also the formation of a Forestry Sector Reference Group to find more cost savings over the next year.
“This Government backs forestry, it will continue to play a key role in achieving our ambitious target of doubling exports by value in 10 years and helping New Zealand meet its climate change obligations,” Mr McClay adds.
