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High country farmers have rights confirmed

HIGH COUNTRY ACCORD
MEDIA RELEASE
14 May 2009

High country farmers pleased to have rights confirmed


High country farmers are pleased with a High Court decision that confirms their rights of exclusive possession to their Crown Pastoral Leasehold properties. The judgement was handed down by Justice Simon France in Wellington yesterday.

“It’s the right answer,” says High Country Accord chairman Jonathan Wallis. “A pastoral lease is alienated Crown land which provides farmers with absolute title. It is similar in many respects to freehold title, distinguishing it from its Australian counterpart.”

Fish & Game New Zealand had sought a declaratory judgement, to clarify whether lessees had exclusive possession. Mr Wallis says the Crown and farmers had operated on the basis that the right existed. It hadn’t been questioned in the past, because it was the clear intent of the government to grant it when the leases were created.

“Nevertheless, the judgement will provide some reprieve for farmers and families who are also waiting anxiously for the decision of The Land Valuation Tribunal with regard to the formula used by the Crown to set their rents.”

In the High Court, Fish & Game cited the work of Lincoln University lecturer Dr Ann Brower who had argued that based on Australian case law pastoral leases did not confer exclusive occupation.

“Although Dr Brower’s work has been largely dismissed by leading New Zealand authorities it has been widely used as the basis for attacks on the high country community. It has polarised views and undermined longstanding relationships based on trust and respect,” he says.

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“Dr Brower is entitled to her professional opinion, but so too is the High Court. Questions now have to be asked about the validity of her other published works and her role in teaching the land management professionals of the future.”

Mr Wallis says her campaign, along with persistent attacks on the legal status of their leases by the previous government, had come at a huge emotional cost for high country farming families. This had made them increasingly reliant on expert legal advice via the collective structure of the High Country Accord.

“We are extremely fortunate to have the considerable expertise of Nick Davidson QC and solicitors Kit Mouat and Bridget Ross. They have repeatedly proved themselves, leaving no stone unturned, in protecting our legal rights.

“I just hope this new government is willing to listen and respect what is legally and morally correct by honoring the lease contracts and the legislation that governs them. This is not about how the law should be – it’s about how it is.”

Mr Wallis says high country farmers were somewhat bemused by the argument advanced by Fish & Game, that a pastoral lease is not a lease - it just likes to call itself one.

“Less amusing was the lack of evidence that responsible members of the public have difficulty gaining access to the high country. High country farmers recognise the public interest in the high country and are more than willing to grant access, subject to safety, environmental and farm concerns.”

In the wake of the High Court decision, the Accord has questioned the decision of Fish and Game – a public entity established under the Conservation Act 1987 – to ignore the advice of the Crown Law Office and to take proceedings against the Crown and farmers.

“Was this a misappropriation of public funds?,” asks Mr Wallis.

“Certainly the precious funds generated from fish and game license fees used to prosecute the case would have been much better used to protect and establish habitat for our fish and game. And the taxpayer funds used to defend the Crown’s position could also have been much better used in these trying times.

“From a farmer’s point of view, the huge sums used to defend our position were needed to maintain the high country environment and to build our farming businesses.

“For almost a century license holders have recognised that access to private land is a privelege and not a right and have respected the goodwill and relationships established with farmers. Many Fish & Game members will be now asking whether this costly exercise is the result of a personal crusade by a national executive that has become distanced from the views of its grassroots membership.

“On the opening morning of the duck shooting season this May the ponds at Minaret Station [the Wallis family owns Minaret] were open to licensed duck shooters regardless of the destructive process before the courts. I do not consider Fish and Game members should necessarily be accountable for the actions of their national council.”

He says the Accord strongly supports fostering and, where applicable, improving access to the high country. This process should respect property rights, not ignore them, and should be directed through the Walking Access Commission appointed last month.

“A huge part of farming is the management of recreation. High Country farmers respect this and pride themselves as land managers linking the public to the land and our heritage.

“Here lies the quandary … does the alternative of returning land to full Crown ownership and control restore and improve access or does it simply add cost and complicate a system that is already working harmoniously.”

ENDS

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