Budget 2015: Support for kiwi welcomed

Kiwi are at grave risk from introduced predators. Photo / Christine Cornege

A $11.2 million bag of rescue money for our critically endangered national bird has been welcomed by environmental groups.

But they warn next year's Budget will need a bigger pot for conservation to help turn around continuing species loss or meet the threat of another big pest plague.

The funding for kiwi conservation, to be spread across four years, came after a warning last year that the species could be lost from the mainland within the next generation and be wiped out without intervention.

The target for the new investment was to turn the kiwi's 2 per cent decline rate into an annual increase as soon as possible.

The main risks to wild kiwi were introduced pests such as stoats and ferrets, and some of the money would be spent on pest trapping and bird monitoring in a partnership between the Department of Conservation (DoC) and community organisation Kiwis for Kiwi.

The investment would also pay for breeding programmes, research, and expansion of DoC predator control programmes.

Kiwis for Kiwi welcomed the boost but said extra funding from other sources was needed to save the kiwi.

The Budget also came with new funding to help ease in law overhauls, including $20.4 million to help councils with proposed changes to the Resource Management Act, and $4 million to help the Environment Protection Authority to administer new legislation for the country's Exclusive Economic Zone.

Environmental Defence Society chairman Gary Taylor said although the kiwi management funding would have wider benefits for biodiversity, he expected the decline in land, freshwater and marine domains would continue.

But despite a slight drop in overall DoC funding he saw the Budget as "reasonable" for conservation and slightly better for environment.

"However, with the projected surplus in 2016-17, we will be looking for a much larger conservation dividend to help turn around continuing species loss in New Zealand."

Forest and Bird was pleased to see extra funding for 1080 pest control, but remained concerned about DoC's capacity to deal with another plague-producing beech mast (seed production) season.

Raglan environmentalist Phil McCabe, who spelled out his Budget hopes in the Herald this week, said it was "disheartening" to see no new packages specially aimed at marine conservation.

Support for kiwi welcomedEnvironment highlights:

• $41.2 million in new funding for environmental priorities.

• $11.2 million over four years to help save the kiwi.

• $20.4 million over four years to help guide councils on Resource Management Act changes.