Under current legislation, overseas investors wanting to invest in production forestry can seek approval for the investment via a relatively permissive special forestry test, which was introduced in 2018. The Government deemed that necessary at the time to support the forestry sector and achieve the Government's goal of stimulating investment and promoting environmental initiatives. However, since then the economics of investing in forestry have changed quite significantly. This has resulted in the significant conversion of pastoral farmland to carbon forestry. This change has been driven by the increasing price of carbon credits, emissions trading scheme reforms, and Government reforestation schemes. The issue is that the special forestry test to date allows all foreign investors to bypass the same requirements that other foreign investors undergo with the "benefit to New Zealand" test. This is because the special forestry test is simpler and more permissive than the "benefit to New Zealand" test.