Wilding Pines Could Cost New Zealand Billions, Says Hoggard
Wilding pines are the wrong tree in the wrong place, and they need to go, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard.
Feds RMA spokesperson Mark Hooper recently blew the whistle on attempts by the Ministry for the Environment to fund ‘NGO participation in resource management and freshwater reform processes’ to the tune of up to $600,000 each.
Hooper says Feds were approached to participate in the scheme to help rush through the reforms just four weeks before the election but turned it down.
“This doesn’t pass the sniff test for us at this stage of the political cycle,” Hooper explained.
It begs the question of the ethics of the Government forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars, on the eve of the election, to select lobby groups to engage with its proposed policy changes.
