FORESTWOOD 2014
Media release
27 February 2014 

Political crunch conference for forestry

The forest industry will be listening intently to what the country's political leaders have to say at a major election year conference in March.

"There are hundreds of thousands of hectares of marginal farmland that would deliver greater long-term returns to the land owners and the New Zealand economy if they were planted in trees. Similarly, New Zealand should be processing more of its logs at home and our nation's public buildings should be exemplars of the wonderful attributes of wood as a construction material," says conference convenor Jon Tanner.

"But they are not. And the answers to the 'why not' ultimately lie in the policies adopted by successive governments. They create the playing field on which our industry plays a very long-term game."

The biennial ForestWood conference attracts the leaders of the country's forest and wood products industries. This year's event, which is being held in Wellington, will focus on the policies needed for the industry to achieve its economic and employment growth potential.

Politicians, industry leaders and political analysts will elaborate on what they plan to do to make the New Zealand forest and wood products industry more successful domestically and in a highly competitive international marketplace. 

The conference is hosted on 19 March at Te Papa, Wellington, by the Wood Council of New Zealand in association with the Wood Processors' Association, NZ Forest Owners Association, Farm Forestry Association, Pine Manufacturers Association and Forest Industry Contractors Association. 

It will follow two high-profile NZ Wood events on 18 March at the James Cook Hotel, Wellington: A seminar on the use of engineered wood products in commercial construction, held in conjunction with the NZ Timber Design Society, followed by the annual NZ Wood Resene Timber Design Awards dinner.

ENDS

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