March 06, 2020
Kaipara tree planting will bring new life to harbour
Forestry Minister Shane Jones says investment from the One Billion Trees fund into the Kaipara region should stimulate efforts to repair the ecosystem of the harbour.
The fund is giving the Integrated Kaipara Harbour Management Group $688,800 to plant native trees on land surrounding Kaipara Harbour.
The group, which is a long-standing initiative of Te Uri o Hau/ Ngāti Whātua, will help landowners prepare and submit applications for direct landowner grants.
Mr Jones says the Kaipara is in a grave state, with siltation compromising water quality and fisheries habitat.
"The farmers are being put on notice and a number of them are starting to step up to the plate and Te Uri o Hau is leading that initiative but the reality is it is crown regulations that have allowed farming practices to carry on in an unabated fashion and leave a legacy of sadness really and lost opportunity in the Kaipara," he says.
Shane Jones says change must come because a new generation will not tolerate the industrial farming practices of the past.
The Minister today opened the Kaipara Kai Hub in Ruawai, south of Dargaville.
The hub, which was part of the Provincial Growth Fund's Kaipara Kickstart package, will explore new crop and stock types and aquaculture opportunities for the region.
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