Listen Now: 
Forestry Minister Shane Jones says Māori landowners seem to have a better grasp of the Government's billion trees strategy than their Pākehā neighbours.
Mr Jones spoke this week to farmers at the Primary Industries Summit and addressed their concerns about the loss of pastoral farming land to forestry.
He says farmers need to be aware there is a new set of community and international expectations, and all of those with their hearts in the provinces need to ensure New Zealand's reality reflects its rhetoric.
"When I'm dealing with the owners of Māori land, our big stations, our hill country landowners up the East Coast, I find they immediately get the billion trees strategy, but a lot of our cockies in the Hawke's Bay and other areas are quite belligerent they have to surrender land for tree planting until they learn there is $240 million available to help them on that journey," Mr Jones says.
He says it's his job to base policies on facts and not give in to alarmism.
!["p_facebook"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/facebook.jpg")
& !["p_twitter"]("/site/uma/images/story_img/twitter.jpg")
Copyright © 2019, UMA Broadcasting Ltd: www.waateanews.com
RELATED NEWS
