What's being done

In May 2008, then Forestry Minister Jim Anderton announced the Labour Government's plans "to adopt a comprehensive package of measures to address the issue of illegally-logged wood products". This "comprehensive package" primarily involved supporting international initiatives to reduce illegal logging.

Domestically, the main initiative so far has been the introduction of the Timber and Wood Products Procurement Policy. This policy obliges government departments to seek legally sourced products. The other significant change on the horizon is the introduction of mandatory labelling of items made from kwila (also known as merbau), a tropical hardwood under serious threat from illegal logging but still widely used for outdoor furniture and decking.

Several retailers - The Warehouse, Briscoes, Big Save, Harvey Norman and Farmers - have voluntarily agreed to stop importing kwila furniture even though it's still available in many other stores. New requirements - expected to be introduced in 2009/10 - will oblige retailers to display information about the legality of kwila products. But there are no plans to require labelling of other imported timber products.

Not good enough, says Marcia Dunnett, Executive Director of the Furniture Association of New Zealand. Dunnett says her organisation has major concerns about the legality of imported furniture and wants measures at the border to control illegal imports. So does Greenpeace: Grant Rosoman says the group wants importers to prove that timber products come from legally and responsibly managed forests.

Import restrictions have been put in the "too hard" basket. Officials point to the difficulties in verifying the legality of timber at the border and establishing the authenticity of documentation as the main hurdles. Consumer doesn't think these problems are insurmountable. After all, this kind of reasoning doesn't hold sway when it comes to stopping counterfeit and pirated goods - something the New Zealand Customs Service does routinely.