January 28, 2019
Council partnership puts Kahungunu on carbon path
Ngāti Kahungunu has struck a deal with Hawke's Bay Regional Council's deal which will give it the cash needed to plant trees on erosion-prone Māori land.
Its subsidiary Kahutia Limited partnership will borrow up to 100,000 carbon credits worth about $2.5 million which it can sell and then repay within 10 years from new carbon credits generated by the growing forests.
The council approved the plan developed by former All Black Taine Randall on the condition Kahungunu Asset Holding Company provided security, which it did by putting up as collateral one of the country's biggest sheep and cattle farm, Tautane Station.
The council says it gets access to Māori land that may not otherwise have become available for afforestation, at a relatively small cost for administration and oversight that will be covered by the 2 percent interest rate.
The deal is expected to be finalised in the next few months.
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