Wednesday, 03 June 2026 15:55

A Good Start

Written by The Hound

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OPINION: While we're on the topic of lumberjacks, Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard has no doubt used a chainsaw hundreds of times, but your old mate reckons he would’ve still been sweating on getting it right when cutting down a pine in front of the cameras, as he did above Queenstown during a recent pre-Budget announcement around extra funding for wilding pine control efforts.

The Government has pledged an extra $79 million for the National Wilding Conifer Control Programme over the next three years, taking its total spend over that time to $109 million, which is a great boost, but probably still not enough.

The Feds reckon $50m a year over the next decade is needed to halt the march of the dreaded pines.

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