National Party timber policy: Why mass timber should compete on merit - Tim Kleier

Opinion byTim Kleier NZ Herald·11 Nov, 2026 03:00 AM4 mins to readTim Kleier is Sustainability and Policy Director of Concrete NZ and Rick Osborne is Chief Executive of Metals NZConcrete walls going up on the NZ Post building in Gisborne. Timber, steel and concrete should compete on their merits, Tim Kleier and Rick Osborne say. Photo / Liam Clayton Marty Verry’s enthusiasm for the National Party’s policy to “back wood in government buildings” is understandable, albeit from a self-serving perspective. As the head of Red Stag Group, which operates New Zealand’s sole cross-laminated timber (CLT) factory, his company stands to gain handsomely from state-directed