Control Of Lake Areas

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32219, 11 February 1970, Page 12

Control Of Lake Areas

Sir, —Aren’t we losing sight! of the fundamental principle at stake in this issue? It appears that the Electricity De-1 partment would take over the! control of 1 million acres (or one-third) of Fiordland; National Park land if the, areas of lakes Manapouri and; ;Te Anau also come under its! control. If this is so, the area might not be subject to, nor protected by. the National; Parks Act, and some or all! of our present inherited legal j rights of access, boating,! shooting, tramping, etc., and the preservation of the area could be in jeopardy Would the general manager of the department confirm the above apparent outcome as correct?) Perhaps he would also say who has paid for the trans mission-line road to be constructed to “a higher standard than was necessary,” as he has boasted that this extra high standard was achieved at “no cost to the taxpayer.”—Yours, etc., J.L.D.R. February 3, 1970. [Mr E. B. Mackenzie, general manager, of the New 1 Zealand Electricity Depart- j | merit, replies: “The New Zea-! iland Electricity Department! i does not take over control of ithe lakes, but only the right Ito use the water for generating electricity, and to construct only such works as are I necessary for this purpose The area as a whole is still under the control of the Fiordland National Park Board, and there will therefore be no Electricity Department interference with rights of access and any forms of re--creation. The transmission- ! line road, in fact the whole Manapouri scheme, is paid for i by the electricity consumers

(of New Zealand—including j Comalco—through the avenue of the Electric Supply Account. The electricity industry in this country is financed by its consumers, and does not rely on taxes.”]