Consult the industry before any bans - Connell
National Party Forestry spokesman Brian Connell is urging the Labour Government to properly consult with the timber
industry before jumping the gun on any ban of arsenic-treated timber.
“Just two years ago the Environmental Risk Management Authority cleared this treated timber of risk. The Labour
Government can’t now cave in to what is essentially a green beat-up.
“The decision to impose a partial-ban in Australia appears to have ignored important evidence. And from a New Zealand
perspective, that puts up to $50 million in sales at risk.
“This is absolutely the last thing our timber industry needs on top of the strong dollar, suffocating compliance costs
and unreliable energy supplies.
”Labour gave this industry the green light just two years ago, it shouldn’t now take any steps without consulting them
first,” says Mr Connell.