25 March 2014

Kauri pay price for lack of Govt funding

The Government needs to fund the Department of Conservation (DOC) and Ministry for Primary Industry (MPI) properly to ensure that they can protect our threatened species and our distinctive kauri forests, the Green Party said today.

Today the Government announced that kauri dieback had spread to the Coromandel.

“The Government hasn’t put up enough funding in recent years to help understand and prevent the spread of kauri dieback, and now we are seeing the results. That miserliness means DOC and MPI and researchers are starting from behind,” said Green Party conservation spokesperson Eugenie Sage.

“DOC and MPI need funding to properly tackle kauri dieback. Instead it’s been left to private charities such as the Tindall Foundation to step in and help fund core conservation work.”

Last year the Tindall Foundation stepped in with a $30,000 donation, when the Government failed to fully fund work.

“Kauri are an iconic species. We need to properly fund DOC and biosecurity work by MPI to protect our kauri forests,” said Ms Sage.

ENDS

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