A $32 million national plan to protect kauri trees from dieback disease is being celebrated as a significant step towards saving the giants of the forest.
The Government acknowledges it's been a slow road to fund the plan and so far that burden has fallen on the shoulders of local government and iwi.
Biosecurity Minister Damien O'Connor is taking the necessary steps to protect our forest giants - the mighty kauri tree - from dieback disease, a soil-borne pathogen that infects their roots.
"It is an incredibly important tree," said Associate Environment Minister James Shaw.
Ministers gathered in Waitakere on Friday to celebrate the new National Pest Management Plan - $32 million over five years to protect kauri.
A rahui was placed over the Waitakere ranges in 2018 after dieback was identified on Mangaroa Ridge. You can spot the infected kauri by their silver trunks.
Minister O'Connor said he had to work hard to get the money.
"It's always hard to extract that money from my mate Grant Robertson but we've got it and we'll need more as we go into the future," he said. "Biosecurity is the most important aspect of our economy."
The plan includes new rules such as compulsory use of shoe cleaning and if you have sick kauri on your land you must report it. Fines for non-compliance are up to $5000.
But the Government's $32 million pales in comparison to the $106 million over 10 years Auckland Council is forking out to protect kauri.
Northland Regional Councillor Jack Craw said the Government's playing catch-up.
"Yes, the Governments of both stripes have been slow, but we're here now," he said.
"Oh look, we have to acknowledge the tremendous commitment from Auckland Council and central Government's complementing that," O'Connor said.
Auckland Council's natural environment rate introduced in 2018 has helped fund training for kauri dieback sniffer dogs.
Pip and Mafai have been training for two-and-a-half years to sniff out kauri dieback.
A collaborative effort to protect these magnificent trees that when able to thrive can live for up to 2000 years.
