Reason given for avoiding forest seminar

Press, 9 August 1985, Page 3

Reason given for avoiding forest seminar

By OLIVER RIDDELL in Wellington The Institute of Foresters avoided a seminar to discuss the future of the Forest Service, held in Wellington recently, because of the seminar’s “very obvious ■ bias.” The seminar was organised by the Native Forests Action Council to discuss environmental administration in general and the future of the Forest Service in particular. Forest Service staff had been instructed by the State Services Commission not to attend, as part of a blanket ban on public servants participating in the political debate now surrounding the future of native and exotic forest management. The Institute of Foresters had been approached to give a professional forestry perspective to the seminar. “I agreed that the insti-

tute would be represented at the seminar and be in a position to discuss its views of management of indigenous forests,” said the institute’s president, Mr Bill Studholme. He had said the institute would discuss forest management per se and would not become involved in any defence or denigration of the Forest Service. The rules had been changed after the institute had agreed to attend, Mr Studholme said. Papers from Native Forests Action Council speakers had shown that the seminar was not about the future of native forests but was “a deliberate attempt to publicly denigrate and destroy” the" Forest Service. The “neutral voice” of the institute would have been lost at such a forum, he said. ________