My attention was grabbed by the article in stuff.co.nz on the Marlborough District Council indicating funding being given to an organisation called the Dryland Forestry Initiative to investigate the use of eucalypts as posts in vineyards in preference to treated timber (seems like a great opportunity to decrie the vineyards poisoning of the ground (who can forget the arsenic in the ground water at Rarangi?)).
So well done on the part of the DFI. Right?
Even better, a quote in the article has the spokesperson for DFI reporting that he had approached the wine industry several times for funding, but was told that they were "in the business of growing grapes not trees". Golly those rat bag wine industry types. Right?
But a quick look at the DFI web site shows several wine industry types involved;
Colin Ross of Seresin Wines
Andrew (or) Ngaire Lawson (viticulturist)
And an interest from Organic Winegrowers New Zealand.
So it does kind of look like there is an interest and support from the wine industry. So it seems like a strange comment from Paul Millen (the project manager for DFI).
So, cue a bit of quick Googling;
The story does not appear to be entirely accurate. While it reports that "Last year the Marlborough District Council agreed to fund the project for three years with $10,000 per year, conditional on a review being carried out at the end of the first year.", what it fails to mention is that waaay back in 2005 the Marlborough District Council approved funding of $10,000 per year to support a Sustainable Farming Fund (SFF) research proposal into the potential use of eucalyptus timber for vineyard posts.
Does that sound familiar? It should do it was from the same Paul Millen. Now I don't want to appear to detract from Paul's outstanding efforts in investigations into forestry and wood use. It is to be commended. This is of course driven (I assume) from his consultancy firm Millen associates. (Also known for their work in the Kaikora area on consulting in biodiversity areas for the Council down that way).
It would also complement his work with the other companies he is a director of (Vineyard Timbers Limited and Marlborough Timber Limited).
So in total it would appear to be receiving funding from the Marlborough District Council to the tune of $10,000 per year from 2005/06? I'm not entirely sure that is the case however, since it would appear from the meeting of the Community and Financial Planning Committee on 12 June 2008 that MAF actually declined the project support from the Sustainable Farming Fund on the grounds that they were not perceived as "Value for money".
I would have thought that was obvious as they are trying to provide a more sustainable means of providing fence posts. Not a cheaper way.
So, what I think has occurred is that no money has changed hands yet, but that now the Council is considering handing out rate payers dollars to fund research into solving the problem created by the vineyards which they refuse to acknowledge. Now it sounds familiar.
But wait, there has to be a twist. And sure enough there is.
Enter stage left the;
Executive Officer of the Marlborough Research Centre Trust;
Member of the Marlborough Wine Research Centre Board,
Wine Marlborough Executive Officer,
Environmental Policy Committee Member,
Marlborough District Councillor,
Former Mayor
Gerald Hope.
Never a man to let an opportunity pass by, he is also the Financial Officer for Drylands Forrest Initiative (DFI).
I would say if there was a man that could organise funding from either the Marlborough District Council (he sits on both the Council proper and the Environment Committee) or the Wine industry, he would be the man.
I would assume that funding for research into Eucalyptus tree growing is assured Paul. So long as Councillor Hope is recusing himself from a multitude of meeting agenda items.
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