The Government has announced a major funding increase to combat the spread of wilding pines, committing an additional $79 million over the next three years as part of Budget 2026.
Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard said the investment would strengthen efforts to protect farmland, water catchments, and native ecosystems from the invasive trees, which are continuing to spread across the country.
The new funding takes the Government’s total commitment to the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme to $109 million over the next three years. More than two million hectares of land across New Zealand are already affected by wilding pine infestations, with untreated areas estimated to be growing by around five percent annually.
Hoggard said wilding pines posed a significant threat to rural productivity, biodiversity, and water supplies, while also increasing wildfire risks in vulnerable regions. He described the funding increase as a strategic investment aimed at helping rural communities and landowners stay ahead of the expanding infestations.
The programme, led by Biosecurity New Zealand, works alongside regional councils, iwi, farmers, researchers, industry groups, and volunteers. Current operations focus on nine priority regions, including Canterbury, Otago, and Marlborough.
The Government said around $30 million of the new funding package would come from the International Visitor Levy, with ministers arguing the tourism sector has a role in helping protect New Zealand’s natural environment.
Over the past decade, the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme has received more than $175 million in Government funding, alongside more than $38 million contributed by community organisations and programme partners.
Alongside the funding announcement, the Ministry for Primary Industries will begin developing a National Pest Management Plan for wilding conifers. The plan is intended to strengthen nationwide coordination, improve long-term control efforts, and introduce more consistent rules aimed at preventing further spread of the invasive trees.
Image credit: Toru Wa
People, this is a prime example how the taxpayer is shafted by international investment (i.e. corporate banksters) and iwi.
‘maori’ elite own 50% of commercially planted forest LAND in New Zealand, worth $ 4.3 Billion!
70% of the plantation forest TREES are in overseas ownership (so this figure includes ownership through freehold title plus long-term control via forestry rights/’cutting rights’, even when the underlying land is not owned), exports worth 7+ Billion in one year!
The total value of forestry exports in the last 20 years (approx time for harvest) is way over 100 Billion!
Why should we, the struggling taxpayer, and tourists, who already pay insane cost for ‘attractions’, need to fork out for damage that thejr profit enterprises cause?
Why?
Because we are herded and fleeced by internal and external parasite owners of the farmlet call New Zealand, the profitable damage they cause paid for by the sheeple, thanks to National, NZ1 and Act circle jerks.
But make no mistake, Labour has initiated that sell-out (treaty extortion, leaving just 1.6% in public hand), and current govt just deepens that rort.
PPP in action. The public partners get the debts and carries the cost of cleaning up any mess (managed by fake democracy uni-party). The private partners get the profits, plus grants and other juicy incentives.
Contortas which have been around forever now have a snivelly new dramatic rabid-greenie name called “wilding” …
Dole bludgers, prisoners and un-employed youth (who are mostly brought up by the dead-beat arsehole scumbag criminal brigade) can easily be transported out to any of these places to cut them down with slashers or axes which was a common and effective way to deal to them. But hey, common sense and
actual work isn’t on the cards in this slippery 2020’s age of corporate globalist snake agenda . So lets make a big horsesh*t scam and spend another 100 million+ dollars on more sleazy fraudulent money-siphoning bullsh*t instead….
We’d love to see chain-gangs made up by the scammers selling NZ