Forest growers go to the polls
Forest growers go to the polls
Fourteen
candidates are standing for six positions on the board of
the Forest Growers Levy Trust, the new body representing the
interests of forest owners.
On-line voting begins on 5 November and closes on 22 November. Anyone who owns a forest grown for eventual harvest that’s 10 or more years old and four or more hectares in area is eligible to vote for their category of representative.
Nominations closed yesterday [Thursday] and are now being verified in time for the opening of voting on Tuesday.
“Having so many well qualified nominees means we will end up with a board that is capable of providing leadership and direction in the industry,” says interim trust chair Geoff Thompson. “A healthy electoral contest also means board members will have a strong democratic mandate to make decisions on behalf of levy payers.”
The main role of the levy trust board will be to manage and allocate the funds generated by a new commodity levy on forest products that begins on 1 January. The levy will be used to fund research and other activities that benefit all plantation forest growers.
Mr Thompson says the commodity levy won the overwhelming support of forest growers who voted in the Forest Voice referendum held earlier this year.
For details about the elections, biographies of candidates and to vote on-line, go to www.forestvoice.org.nz
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