{"id":169746,"date":"2025-12-05T16:39:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T16:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/169746\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T16:39:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T16:39:17","slug":"ikeas-hawkes-bay-pine-tree-expansion-sparks-fears-residents-will-be-left-to-pay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/169746\/","title":{"rendered":"Ikea\u2019s Hawke\u2019s Bay pine tree expansion sparks fears residents will be left to pay"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018Dumbest thing NZ has done in agriculture\u2019<\/p>\n

To better understand the scale of this land-use change, P\u014drangahau farmer James Hunter and pilot Joe Faram flew RNZ over thousands of hectares of new pine trees that now cover what had been traditional farmland for generations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the dumbest thing New Zealand has done in agriculture,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n

He wants New Zealanders to witness the extent of farmland being planted in forestry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just one farm, it\u2019s farm after farm, and I think it\u2019s the scale of it that people don\u2019t understand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuddenly we\u2019ve got a district that\u2019s been swallowed, and this is apparently good for the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 1.8 million hectares of New Zealand are planted in pine trees, with many farms having been converted since 2008 to earn carbon credits after the Emissions Trading Scheme was introduced.This resulted in more \u201ccarbon farming\u201d, where forests are planted for carbon credits and permanently locked up rather than being harvested for timber.Swedish furniture company Ikea has bought 28,000ha of New Zealand farmland since 2021, with another 10,000 pending approval in Northland.However, Ikea told RNZ none of its trees have been planted for carbon credits, although they may look at \u201csome form of offsetting in the future\u201d.A recent report from the Climate Change Commission estimated another 900,000ha of land will be converted to forestry by 2050.Most of Ikea\u2019s 4300ha of forestry in Central Hawke\u2019s Bay is near the village of P\u014drangahau, where about 200ha of its pine trees went up in flames in October and took days to extinguish because of the high winds grounding helicopters.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s fires like this that have rural communities on edge, because they say even if the blaze starts on nearby farmland, the forests contain the fuel that feeds them.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the question for the forestry owners is, how confident are they that they can stop New Zealand haemorrhaging money chasing fires?\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve brought basically the equivalent of petrol tankers into these rural districts. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should we pay for the cost of fighting something while they\u2019re making extraordinary money?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hunter believed there had been \u201cno thought to firefighting\u201d, especially in high winds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to see them have to put in their own water supplies. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I want some confidence that they can fight a fire when the helicopters are not able to fly \u2013 and if the helicopters are not able to fly, what happens to the rest of us downwind?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FarmerFarmer James Hunter is worried forestry companies aren’t taking the fire risk seriously. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

He\u2019s concerned that Fire and Emergency New Zealand didn\u2019t have the resources to deal with major blazes. <\/p>\n

Fire and Emergency said it\u2019s primarily funded through the Fire and Emergency levy, which is collected on contracts of fire insurance. <\/p>\n

However, there is no mandatory requirement for foresters to insure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not have a separate breakdown of levy contributions from forestry companies,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther than funding from the levy, Fire and Emergency does not receive any additional dedicated funding to fight forestry fires.\u201d<\/p>\n

The organisation said it was \u201cconfident in its ability to respond effectively to forestry fires\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ikea forestland country manager Kelvin Meredith told RNZ the company, like many other forestry owners, did not have fire insurance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t insure for fire. It\u2019s prohibitively expensive in New Zealand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Forest Owners Association said about 30 to 40% of plantation forest estate was insured. <\/p>\n

It varied year to year as owners reviewed their risk management.<\/p>\n

\u201cStanding crop insurance is becoming increasingly unaffordable, so – like other rural landowners – forest owners weigh the cost, risk and benefits each year,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome companies choose to self-insure and invest heavily in their own firefighting capability, which in turn strengthens rural fire response more broadly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA newly planted forestry block in Central Hawke’s Bay near Pourere \u2013 each sprayed circle is a pine tree. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

Meredith agreed there is a lot of fuel in a forest, but said it provided fire plans to Fire and Emergency and worked closely with it to mitigate the fire risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we can do is have decent fire breaks and decent fire plans in place, so if it does break out, the key consideration is that no one\u2019s life is in danger.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t speak for all forest owners, but I think we\u2019re relatively well prepared in the event of a fire,\u201d Meredith said.<\/p>\n

Hunter said if forest owners weren\u2019t contributing financially to Fire and Emergency or properly mitigating the fire risk, then it was unfair to farmers who did pay fire insurance levies and were investing in fire protections.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo you want to go and plant your trees? Cool. Don\u2019t leave me with the costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also currently no mandatory requirement for forestry owners to reduce or mitigate fire risk, but the Forest Owners Association said $21 million a year was spent on fire protection.<\/p>\n

Nationally, Fire and Emergency had 15 formal service-level agreements with major forestry companies that outlined resource-sharing arrangements and joint responsibilities during wildfire events, and said three more were being finalised.<\/p>\n

\"P\u014drangahauP\u014drangahau farmer James Hunter took RNZ reporter Alexa Cook up in a helicopter to get a clearer view of the extent of pine plantings across the region. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

Fire and Emergency wouldn\u2019t provide forestry fire plans to RNZ, but said there was ongoing investment in training and technology to ensure it remained well prepared as fire risks evolved \u201cdue to climate and land-use changes\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFire and Emergency remain committed to working with all stakeholders to protect people, property and the environment from the growing threat of wildfires.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ikea said it would consider supporting calls for legislation requiring all landowners, from farmers to foresters, to mitigate fire risk and invest in fire protections.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s practical and effective and can be implemented in an effective manner,\u201d Meredith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s no good writing a piece of legislation that only half the population is going to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m embarrassed to be a New Zealander\u2019<\/p>\n

\"PilotPilot Joe Faram has been fighting fires from the air for decades and worries the risk is increasing. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

Pilot Joe Faram has been fighting forestry fires for decades. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s had a front-row seat witnessing Hawke\u2019s Bay\u2019s landscape steadily change from farms to pines.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe transition has been very vast over the last 15 years … a lot of that mindset has been detrimental to the betterment of New Zealand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m embarrassed to be a New Zealander; it\u2019s shameful.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a pilot, he said there was a lot of pressure on aerial firefighting resources because it\u2019s often the main tool for containing a forestry blaze.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s concerned the increase in pine trees is creating a bigger fire risk.<\/p>\n

\"AtAt least four other Hawke’s Bay farms have been sold to overseas forestry companies this year. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause there\u2019s more material, there\u2019s more fuel,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re certainly putting ourselves in a dangerous situation, so you\u2019re managing risk control.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy a little bit of good fortune and luck, we have had fires, but we\u2019ve managed to suppress them quite effectively. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut one day, the Swiss cheese will line up, and we will have a fire that, instead of putting it out in two or three days, it could be up to a month.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fear shared by P\u014drangahau hap\u016b Ng\u0101ti Kere. <\/p>\n

Chairman David Tipene Leach has been in discussions with Ikea since 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came to the marae, they talked to us, they told us what they had to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you look back on it a couple of years later, actually, there\u2019s not much to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since the fire in October, he has written to Ikea on behalf of the hap\u016b, urging it to remove the pine trees planted closest to the village in an area known as Stoneridge.<\/p>\n

\"AA pine forestry in southern Hawke’s Bay. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look around the world and certainly in this day and age, we look into Canada and into the States and other places, and you see the huge forest fires that are occurring in these big plantations \u2013 we\u2019ve got to be worried about that sort of stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith regard to exit and entry from our little isolated town, they\u2019re planting, planting all along the road. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t get out of our town if the forests are burning.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Ikea said it was unlikely it would remove trees.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as taking the whole Stoneridge face out of trees, I can\u2019t see that happening,\u201d Meredith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we need to do is meet with the community and understand what are the real concerns here related to fire.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Tipene Leach, there\u2019s a sense of sadness around seeing farmland planted in pine.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of like this is just another, you know, I don\u2019t want to sound silly, but another wave of colonisation that Ng\u0101ti Kere has to deal with.<\/p>\n

\u201cUs small hap\u016b, we\u2019re fighting for survival here. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not really fighting to change the world. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just fighting to maintain our little bit of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DavidDavid Tipene Leach feels the spread of forestry in Hawke’s Bay is like another wave of colonisation for Ng\u0101ti Kere. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

He worried the pine problems seen in Tai R\u0101whiti with slash and community loss were creeping down the East Coast, and Hawke\u2019s Bay was set to make the same mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe forestry people will tell us, \u2018don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve all learned since then\u2019,\u201d Leach said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they are commercial operators who are out there to make a buck where they can, and so I\u2019m not sure that we have any reason to trust them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forest Owners Association chief executive Elizabeth Heeg said commercial foresters did want to make a return on their investments, but the returns were slow to be realised, and forest owners were highly motivated to protect the environments and communities their trees grew in.<\/p>\n

\u201cPart of this is adapting to climate change, and with increasing numbers of significant storms, foresters are very focused on adapting their forest and harvest management plans to prevent and prepare for incidents where forest waste leaves their land,\u201d Heeg said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur forests are a vast resource and with greater collaboration across the industry and other sectors, using woody biomass for energy generation, more timber in construction and increasing domestic processing, New Zealand has a significant opportunity to gain far greater value from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" An area of new pine plantings in Central Hawke’s Bay. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

Ikea said while it couldn\u2019t answer for all foresters, the company was \u201cpouring cash into the country\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re planting forests … we\u2019re buying native seedlings, we\u2019re employing local contractors, employing planting crews … and we won\u2019t realise a return for 28 years,\u201d Meredith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not extracting a lot of cash out of the country for the benefit of an offshore entity, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said Ikea had put a \u201clittle bit of a pause\u201d on buying farmland at the moment and was buying forests instead.<\/p>\n

The timber grown in New Zealand would be used in Ikea\u2019s furniture; however, it would be shipped overseas for manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sad situation we\u2019re in is, you can actually send logs to places like China and bring back products made in those countries cheaper than we can do it here.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d love to manufacture here. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d love to support local processing, but it\u2019s just the economics are tough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Government taking forestry fire risk \u2018seriously\u2019<\/p>\n

\"ForestryForestry Minister Todd McClay. Photo \/ Andrew Warner<\/p>\n

Forestry Minister Todd McClay told RNZ the Government took the risk of forest fires seriously and had strengthened its approach in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere has been a wide package of work across prevention, readiness and response,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis includes updated guidance for landowners and councils, better co-ordination between the New Zealand Forest Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand, and ongoing investment in research, risk mapping and seasonal forecasting.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if the Government was considering legislation changes so that it\u2019s mandatory for all landowners to reduce or mitigate fire risk, the minister said they already had responsibility for managing their property against the risk of fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to note that 98% of wildfires in New Zealand are caused by human activity and often spread into forests.<\/p>\n

\" Forestry in Hawke’s Bay. Photo \/ RNZ<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also important to note that under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017, Fenz have the authority to require a landowner to create and clear a firebreak on their property if it believes this is needed to help control fires.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believed forestry owners were doing enough to reduce the risk of fires on their land.<\/p>\n

\u201cLarge forestry companies often have their own firefighting teams, equipment and water supplies,\u201d McClay said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting full insurance against fire damage is difficult, so some forestry owners choose to self-insure or buy partial coverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, the financial risk of losing trees to fire sits with the forest owner.\u201d<\/p>\n

– RNZ was taken on the flight by farmer James Hunter to give a snapshot of the land-use change in the area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018Dumbest thing NZ has done in agriculture\u2019 To better understand the scale of this land-use change, P\u014drangahau farmer…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4193,1561,5195,4194,13689,28164,1976,100737,101,111,43,139,69,2744,48314,530,8207,61,15981,1533],"class_list":["post-169746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-alexa","tag-bay","tag-be","tag-cook","tag-expansion","tag-fears","tag-hawkes","tag-ikeas","tag-left","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pay","tag-pine","tag-residents","tag-sparks","tag-to","tag-tree","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}