Native Forest Action
There was an earlier unrelated environmental group called Native Forest Action Council.Native Forest Action (NFA) was set up protect the publicly owned native forests of the
West Coast of the
South Island of
New Zealand from logging.
The West Coast has extensive stands of virgin native forests and numerous organisations had lobbied for their protection. In
1986 the
West Coast Accord was signed between environmental groups and government agencies. There was discord amongst other environmental groups since it was seen to be too much of a compromise towards the logging interests. This should be seen it light of the fact that New Zealand had lost approximately 75% of its original forest cover since human habitation.
NFA had a campaign of
non-violent direct action which gained it prominence in the media. The
New Zealand Labour Party made an election promise in 1999 to halt the logging. One of the most controversial parts of campaign history was when a bomb was found on a helicopter used for logging. NFA, which had always maintained a policy of non-violence denied vigourously any links to the bomb, and no link was found.
It is claimed that the release of the book
Secrets and Lies by
Nicky Hager prior to the
1999 general election had an influence on the election of the Labour Party. The book made detailed claims about an organised
smear campaign against NFA by
public relations firm
Shandwick on behalf of the National Government . The newly elected Labour/Alliance coalition government halted the logging and the land was transferred to the
Department of Conservation.
NFA, which as an organisation always had a very informal structure, is now dormant.
*
Hager, Nicky, (1999)
Secrets and Lies ISBN 0908802579
*
NFA website
