Pragmatic answers to high country challenges

The public has nothing to fear from the reform of land tenure in the high country, says High Country Accord chair Jonathan Wallis.

“Claims that it will result in the privatisation of public land and have a negative effect on conservation and recreation outcomes are plainly wrong,” he says.

“Tenure review is a legal process which allows land which is already held privately in perpetual leases to be assessed against its productive, conservation and heritage values. Farmers have the option to buy the Crown’s interest in their productive land at full market value. In doing so, land with high conservation values has varying forms of protection put in place to ensure the significant inherent values are not diminished.

“In the past, the government has preferred to put land with conservation values into full Crown ownership and control. But this relies on significant taxpayer funding to purchase the rights to the land in the first place and ongoing funds to manage the land into the future. Also it is wrong to assume that all conservation land is devoid of economic potential whether it be through summer grazing or commercial recreation activities.

“For these reasons the government and high country farmers are looking at alternative ways to protect the multiple and overlapping values you get on high country farms. These mechanisms are already provided for in current legislation and are only used if the potential land use proves to be economically and environmentally sustainable.”

He says that in many cases these are more pragmatic and sensible than full Crown ownership and control, and include the use of covenants.

“Covenants are a sensible and enduring land management option where conservation and/or recreation objectives can be achieved in conjunction with the sustainable economic use of the land.

“Contrary to recent claims, covenants are not weak. They are legally binding, enduring contracts. They may not be suitable in all situations, but where they are appropriate they have been shown to enhance conservation and economic values.”

Mr Wallis says perpetual leases already provide mechanisms for ensuring sustainable land use, but these have now been superseded by district and regional plans under the Resource Management Act which apply to all land irrespective of tenure.

“The high country and its communities are iconic national features which New Zealanders are deservedly proud of. While it is essential that these features should be protected, the quest must be rational and balanced – recognising that there are multiple options for ensuring that land management is sustainable.”

ENDS

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