11 December 2006

Snapshot shows tougher import rules for timber needed

A Green Party snapshot of furniture retailers shows the need for all imported timber and timber products sold in New Zealand to be certified legally and sustainably logged, the Green Party says.

Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says party volunteers visited a selection of 26 retailers around the country over the last month to ascertain whether customers were being fully informed about the origin of the timber used in furniture.

"We were disappointed to find that while 12 claimed the timber was sustainably logged only three actually had the documentation to prove it.

"It was also disappointing to find that 10 retailers did not even know whether the timber was sustainably or legally harvested.

"This shows the need for legislation that allows only timber certified as sustainably produced to be imported. Leaving it up to importers and retailers is just not working.

"It was great to see the Government finally announce a policy on illegally logged timber yesterday, but it is disappointing that they will not prevent it from entering this country.

"If the Government can get the information to require all timber used in government buildings to be from legally harvested forests, then they can apply the same information to entry at the border for all timber.

"This would end the unfair situation we have now where New Zealand producers are being undercut by imported illegally logged timber, which has been taken from the forests of poor countries, ripping of their people and destroying the environment.

"New Zealand furniture manufacturers are going to the wall in huge numbers because they cannot compete against cheap imported furniture made from illegally and/or unsustainably logged timber.

"Most of this timber comes from old growth forests in countries like Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Malaysia. The loss of these tropical forests is contributing to the impact of climate change and placing endangered species at risk of extinction.

"There is a worldwide movement for certified sustainable logging and we should be supporting it, for the sake of the environment, future generations, and our own timber industry which is required to harvest under sustainable management permits and plans," Ms Fitzsimons says.

ENDS

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