Timberlands manager steps down

By AUDREY YOUNG

Timberlands senior manager Kit Richards resigned last night, a swift response to a virtual demand for his head from the Prime Minister.

It was Helen Clark's second scalp in a week over the behaviour of a state sector employee. Peter Doone stepped down as Police Commissioner on Monday, in strife over his actions when a car in which he was a passenger was stopped by a constable.

Mr Richards resigned after strong criticism by both Helen Clark and the chairman of Timberlands' board, Warren Young, for giving advice in an e-mail to proponents of native logging on combating Government policy.

She called it "guerrilla warfare," he said it did not meet "the ethical and moral standards" required of all employees.

Mr Richards has been general manager of planning for the West Coast-based state-owned enterprise for 10 years and earned at least $100,000 a year.

The resignation was announced by the Timberlands West Coast chief executive, Dave Hilliard. He said he had received it "with regret."

"The financial success of Timberlands can in a large part be attributed to Kit's technical expertise and knowledge."

He said he was saddened by the resignation but understood entirely his reasons for going. He would not say whether a financial settlement had been reached.

The offending e-mail suggested that Helen Clark, Timberlands Minister Pete Hodgson and Environment Minister Marian Hobbs should be targets in a fight to change Government policy.

It read: "The only chance is to put real heat on Clark and Hodgson personally. That may not alter anything over here but unless their fingers are burnt, they are not going to change.

"Marian Hobbs has to be another target and fast. She may not be as dyed-in-the-wool Forest and Bird as Clark ... She needs to be pressured to visit and see and hammered over the appalling example set by her government in terms of breaching the intent, ethic and practice of the RMA [Resource Management Act].

"You should be pressuring the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment to get involved also."

Mr Richards could not be contacted last night but he said earlier in the day that he had written it on his private e-mail on a Sunday night in response to a request from someone for advice.

It had been others' battle, not his.

"I probably should have been a lot more careful," he told National Radio.

The e-mail leaked on Thursday by the conservation group Forest and Bird.

Mr Richards had circulated it to 46 logging proponents on December 17 - shortly after Helen Clark swept to power on the promise of better accountability in the state sector and soon after the Government announced an end to native logging on crown land.

The dust had barely settled on a political storm over Nicky Hager's book Secrets and Lies, about Timberlands' lobbying tactics.

Mr Richards featured in the book and Helen Clark, in Opposition at the time, was outraged.

Mr Young said that after the Hager book controversy, staff were given clear instructions.

"The essence of them was that there was to be no further so-called lobbying activity without the express understanding of the board."

He did not believe the position of the board had been contravened by Mr Richards. "I think there has been an indiscretion on the part of any employee in the context of the policy.

"I don't believe there has been an intentional breach."

Helen Clark said through a spokesman last night that she was happy Timberlands had seemed to have acted appropriately.

Mr Hodgson would get a full briefing from Mr Young on Monday.

All the Government wanted state-owned enterprise employees to do was act in accordance with the SOE's statement of corporate intent.

United leader Peter Dunne said Helen Clark's comments over the e-mail were a "chilling and eerie overreaction."