WELLINGTON, New Zealand, March 28, 2000 (ENS) - For the second time in less than two months the New Zealand government has forced the government owned logging company, Timberlands, to terminate its employment of former company executive Kit Richards.

In late January, Prime Minister Helen Clark and Minister for Timberlands Pete Hodgson demanded that Timberlands fire Richards from his position as general manager of planning.

Richards lost his $NZ100,000 a year job last December after evidence emerged that he was organizing a lobbying campaign against the policy of the government which was committed to ending the logging of New Zealand's rainforests. Clark's Labour government won last November's election partly by promising an end to Timberlands' logging.

Richards chose to resign, but within days he was back at work at Timberlands under a secret consultancy agreement. He worked for four days each month advising the logging company on how to gain Forest Stewardship Council certification for the logging of the native rainforests.

News of the consultancy became public last week when Richards mentioned his consultancy role with Timberlands in a radio interview. Native Forest Action, one of the main environment groups campaigning against ongoing rainforest logging, was incensed.

Native Forest Action spokesperson, Dean Baigent Mercer called on the government to fire the entire Timberlands Board of Directors. The re-employment of Richards "shows there is institutional defiance and contempt of the government's wishes to end native forest logging by the state owned company," Mercer fumed.

"Why is Kit Richards being paid to finish off his old project on the Forest Stewardship Certification - a process which is an attempt to give credibility for native logging - when the shareholding minister has publicly told Timberlands that all their native logging is going to cease?" Native Forest Action asked.

"Forest Stewardship Certification applying to Timberlands' native logging has been rejected by all major New Zealand environmental groups because it is seen an device for justifying the continued of logging of native forests which should not be logged, Mercer said.

Stunned by Richards re-employment, Minister Hodgson, contacted the Chairman of Timberlands Board, Warren Young and demanded to know the terms of the consultancy and why it had been entered into.

Hodgson described the consultancy as "untenable."

"I think that no sensible person could argue that someone dismissed for unacceptable behaviour to be re-contracted almost immediately. If it is true that Mr. Richards can do work that no one else can do then that is a loss the company must bear," Hodgson told the New Zealand Parliament.

Richards defended his consultancy arrangement with Timberlands. "There is no way I was acting contrary to the interests of the company. It would be argued in every sense that anything that I was doing was to promote the option of beech forest management," he told a New Zealand news service.

After late night discussions between Hodgson and Young last week, it was agreed that Richards consultancy would be brought to an end. "In all the circumstances it is appropriate for Timberlands to bring to an end the consultancy arrangements with Mr. Kit Richards," Young said in a statement.

Richards' original resignation followed the public release by conservation groups of a December 19 e-mail in which Richards, then Timberlands general manager of planning told the group to target the Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for Timberlands.

"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 need [sic] to be pressured to visit and hammered over the appalling example set by her government..." Richards wrote.

At the time Young, Timberlands' chairman, told the "New Zealand Herald" that "the ethical and moral standards at issue are not up to the level that the board requires of all employees of Timberlands."

For its part, the New Zealand Green Party, which holds the balance of power in the New Zealand parliament, is pressing the government to quickly end the ongoing logging of rimu forests. In response to a question from Green Party Co-Leader, Rod Donald, Hodgson told Parliament Wednesday that he could not give a date when Timberlands' rimu logging will end.

"The government's policy is to stop indigenous logging on crown managed land as soon as possible. We are working through the issues involved in stopping rimu logging," he told Parliament. "A generous economic package is being prepared for the West Coast by officials," he said.

Last week Native Forest Action was encourage after two activists were treated leniently in the Auckland District Court. The activists were charged in February 1999 for locking themselves on to helicopter used in Timberlands rimu logging operations.

The pair, Bridget Gibb and Steve Abel, had no previous convictions. They faced a maximum sentence of two years in jail and various reparation charges claimed by Timberlands.

Gibb and Abel pleaded guilty to their separate charges of unlawful interference with a helicopter and illegally getting upon an aircraft.

Judge Kerr convicted each activist because of their guilty pleas but dismissed the claim for $6,000 sought by the helicopter company. "You can wear your conviction like a badge of courage," Judge Kerr told the activists. Error: Unable to read footer file.