27 June 2012

Marlborough small forest owners are questioning the fairness and accuracy of levies to fund an enlarged Marlborough Kaikoura Rural Fire Authority which starts operating next week.

Forest owners must contribute $36,000 towards authority expenses in its first year of operation, says authority board chairman Mark Wheeler, in a letter sent to each forest owner along with a dummy levy invoice, based on their forest area.

Mr Wheeler, who works for the Marlborough District Council said forest areas might not be accurate. Forest owners should get back to the authority to correct any mistakes.

An anonymous forest owner contacted the Marlborough Express to say big companies were being charged less than their share of costs.

Contributions calculate out at between $2.81 per hectare for the owner of a 21ha forest block to roughly 2c per hectare for Nelson Pine which, according to the Marlborough Forest Industry Association (MFIA) database, owns nearly 20,000 ha of the 71,400 ha of forest in Marlborough.

Vern Harris, who represents the MFIA on the authority board, said the levy money covered extra administration, firefighter training and public education but not firefighting costs. The cost of servicing each owner was roughly the same, regardless of the size of their forest. Forest owners would meet 13 per cent of additional costs excluding firefighting, the Marlborough District Council 47 per cent, the Conservation Department 30 per cent and the Kaikoura District Council 10 per cent.

The authority consulted with organisations including MFIA and Federated Farmers how it would operate and be funded, said Mr Harris. People had until Friday to give feedback and formal invoices would be sent out in early July.

The council contribution to authority costs would come from adding about $5 to $10 to rural rates bills, he said. This would be revisited as part of the next annual plan review, to reflect the fact that the new authority would provide a more consistent rural firefighting service across the district.

"We have an open mind on the future breakdown within the classes on how its levy is divided," said Mr Wheeler. "That applies to council share of rates as well as forestry share."

WHAT IT WILL COST

Forest rural fire levy

0 to 20 ha nil
20 to 50 $60
50 to 100 $80
100 to 200 $100
200 to 500 $200
500 to 1000 $300
more than 1000 ha $400

Source: Story by Penny Wardle, Marlborough Express. To read the full story, click here.