New Zealand Legislation: Bills

Recommendation

The Emissions Trading Scheme Review Committee has examined the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill and recommends that it be passed with the amendments shown.

Introduction

The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Forestry Sector) Amendment Bill amends the Climate Change Response Act 2002 to delay a number of requirements, including reporting requirements for foresters, allowing applications for exemptions for certain land holdings, and the publication by the Government of an allocation plan for pre-1990 forest owners.

Recommended amendments

We recommend amending the bill to specify 1 July 2010 as the final possible date that may be set as a deadline for applications to be made for exemptions for land holdings with less than 50 hectares of pre-1990 forest land.

The bill enables regulations to be made to prescribe a date by which such applications must be made. If no such regulation were to be made, the chief executive would be required to specify a date by public notice. We consider that the primary legislation should set a specific date as the last possible date that can be set as a deadline for such applications, and we consider that 1 July 2010 would be the appropriate date. This would not prevent an earlier date being set by either regulation or public notice.

While we see advantage in allowing an adequate period for small forest owners to measure their forests and apply for an exemption, we were advised that the determinations on the allocation plans cannot be prepared until all exemptions are known. We do not wish to hold up the preparation of the determinations on the allocation plans on which the rest of the industry depends, and so agree that the chief executive should have flexibility to set the date earlier than the 1 July 2010 deadline.