Big timber advts spark response

Press, 6 July 1977, Page 2

Big timber advts spark response

The full-page newspaper advertisements of the sawmilling industry over the last week — their counter to the Maruia Declaration — are getting a reaction, both for and against. At the bottom of each advertisement is a coupon which can be mailed for further information, or to offer advic' or help. Mr E. Moseley, of Greymouth, assistant secretary of the West Coast Sawmillers’ Association, said yesterday that between 400 and 500 coupons had been mailed back.

“This indicates that people are reacting, and are concerned for the future of the Coast,” he said. “We are getting the coupons back at the rate of about 50 a day.”

However, the association would not continue the campaign beyond Its present schedule, because it was "pretty expensive.” “We hope that people and organisations on the West Coast will take up the cudgels and carry the campaign forward," he said.

It appeared from developments at last week’s West Coast forestry seminar that this would happen, said Mr Moseley.

The Native Forest Action C.ouncil, however, takes the opposite tack — the advertisements are “an undisguised but ignorant attack.”

The council’s national 1 chairman (Miss Gwenny ’ Davis) said that the full- ; page advertisements were an ( insult to the intelligence of j

the more than 300,000 New Zealanders who had signed the Maruia Declaration petition.

The sawmillers' association had launched a

“grossly misleading” campaign to get support for a retreat to the "bad old days” of large-scale clearfelling of native forests. “The statistics used in the advertisement have changed from day to day, but almost all the figures given are wrong,” she said. “There is hardly a correct fact to be found in any of the advertisements.”

She said the sawmillers’ advertising company had completely misrepresented the Maruia Declaration, which called for an end to

the logging of virgin native forests by 1978, but said specifically that Westland was an exception. “Nowhere in New Zealand has this petition been examined more carefully than on the West Coast,” said Miss Davis. “Some 2400 people were approached, mostly on a door-to-door basis, and after full discussion 1569 people signed.” She said that these signatories recognised that the Maruia Declaration did not

threaten to close down the West Coast economy, but placed a proper importance on the value of maintaining its native forests. “The petitioners want solutions to be found to West Coast problems that do not involve a ruthless attack on the remaining lowland forests. “The Jaakko Poyry Consultants’ report shows that these solutions are available, provided the sawmillers are wilting to play ball,” she said. A “Buller forest action committee” will be set up by Buller sawmillers to prepare submissions for the use of all forest areas in the district, says the Westport reporter of “The Press.” The decision was taken at a meeting in Westport on Monday of Buller delegates to the forest seminar in Hokitika. Organisations invited to send a representative to the action committee include territorial local bodies, the Hi.ller Electric Power Board, Buller Federated Farmers, the Westport-Karamea Sawmillers’ Association, the Buller Chamber of Commerce, the Buller Trades council and the Buller branch of the Contractors’ Federation. The West Coast Regional Development Council will be entitled to be represented, if required.