Toby Williams: Federated Farmers Forestry Spokesperson on the new farm to forest conversion limits

There's hopes new legislation will protect the most productive farmland.  

The rule change will stop Category 1 to 5 land being converted into forestry.  

Those with category 6 land will only be allowed to convert 15 thousand hectares.  

Federated Farmers forestry spokesperson Toby Williams told Mike Hosking that it restores the balance between farming and production forestry, and makes sure they’re playing on an even field. 

He says they’ve been working on for three or four years with the National Party, and it’s really answered their calls. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A big move from the government on farm to forest conversion.

(00:02):
By next October, limits are going to be in place
on what land can be converted and how much planting
can happen. FED Farmers Forestry spokesperson Toby Williams with us
on this Toby Morning Morning, Mike, they got it right.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
You're not happy, No, We're really happy. This is one
of those things we've been asking for. It. It actually probably
goes a little bit further than what we've been asking
having those restrictions on land class six, but also having
the ability for farmers still to plant up to twenty
five percent of their own land irrespect of what the
slope is as a great core for farming.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Have you had good input into it of the government
listen to you.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Yeah, we have. So there's something I've been working on here,
will fed's been working on for now for three or
four years of the government. You know that's party now
the government, and it's really aren't at all of our
calls and I think it's really clear, really care we
need to be really careful here is that bag You
can still be planted on those land classes. We just
can't claim the eighty years. So it brings restores the
balance back between farming and production forestry and make sure

(00:57):
we're playing off an even field.

Speaker 1 (00:59):
Were things didn't care where had we tipped it too
far in one way?

Speaker 2 (01:03):
No, we had clipped it too far one way. Yeah,
And that's one of a big big criticisms has been that,
you know, we're they're farm up here on the coast
sixteen sixty hour sorry, and a lot of that's Class
three and four and it's all been planted into pine trees,
which is a waste of productive farm land. Now we've
got the balance right and we're looking forward to you know,
working with the government ensure that we get some changes

(01:24):
to eat. Yes, so we're actually achieving our goals.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Flip siders, I've got one hundred hec. There is somebody
who wants to plant forests offt and me ten dollars
a hec there more, What do I do? I mean?
That's unfair to a degree, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Well, it's not when you've already distorted the market by
having this, you know, this ability for people to you know,
pay really high prices, driving up fat land. It is
beyond the reach of a she to be farmer. We've
got even dairy farmers down in the south and going,
and that's how high the carbon price had got. So
it was out of control. And it's just restore some balance.

(01:55):
It doesn't mean, you know, it's not going to happen
to restore some balance back into it.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Was it laziness? I mean, when you're looking at carbon climate,
et cetera, if you can plant a tree, you were
always going to, weren't it, because it's the easy way out.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, there's an easy way. And a broad Car had
an article talking about how the ETS is going to
fail because of their very reason. It's easier and it's
more convenient to plant a tree rather than change behavior.
What we need to see is behavior toan we just
stop pluting. We need to stop pumping tons and millions
of tons of CO two into the ear, and we'll
start solving some of our problems. We could plant all
of our farm land in New Zealand and globe warming

(02:29):
will still occur because they're sill a mat in.

Speaker 1 (02:30):
Calvin, So you would you would. He's outgoing at the
Climent Commission. Of course, he says, un listen, there's major change.
We're going to fail. You would agree with him.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
Yeah, we'd agree with him. You know, the ETU should
be set up to change behaviors. Right now, the only
thing that's doing is masking behaviors. Any ostage, anything that
says net emissions. You know, we need to talk about
grosser missions and we have grosser missions profile, not our
need emissions. Although it's it's a convenient thing to be doing.
So we're doing our boat. We've got our net measures
at x y z.

Speaker 1 (02:58):
Yeah you wind up. I don't know whether you've seen it,
but we've got the agg Minister on after seven o'clock
there's a new methane emissions report out and their argument
is that we don't need to cut by as much
if the world does a whole bunch more than they're
doing currently. The problem is the world won't do a
whole bunch more than they're doing currently. Therefore we might
have to say you see what I mean, it's like
the world doesn't do it. What's the point.

Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, well, we'll also to remember we're a very small market,
you know, small country. Sorry, down the end of the world.
We've got actually a very low missions profile and all
of our emissions, we remove all of our missions. We're
not going to move the needle soever. We still need
to do our bit, and you know what, we don't
want to sacrifice our productive economy to be able to
achieve that, and under current targets and the current legislation

(03:42):
we've had, that's what we're going to do. And the
Paris call is very clear. We shouldn't befiting food production
to get our missions and check and that's the one
thing that we've been doing.

Speaker 1 (03:51):
Good stuff Tobey appreciated very much like his cut of
his Jim Toybee Williams Federated Farmer's Forestry spokes for us.
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