Trust a focus for outdoors?

Press, 27 August 1977, Page 4

Trust a focus for outdoors?

Wellington reporter The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust, contained in legislation introduced into Parliament on August 4, has the potential to provide the co-ordinating focus for outdoor recreation that New Zealand needs, according to the Assistant Director-General of Lands (Mr P. H. C. Lucas). He to'd an outdoor-rec-reation planning symposium in Wellington that the proposed trust was designed to encourage a more co-ordinated approach between all the central, regional, and local-government agencies involved in the over-all “open space" system of New Zealand, as well as interested private organisations and citizens. It recognised the need to involve the

public and to encourage its co-operation in providing “open space” to supplement the opportunities for recreation and contemplation given by public land managed for these purposes. The general functions of the proposed trust were to encourage and promote, for the benefit of the present and future generations of the people of New Zealand, “the provision, protection, preservation. anu enhancement of open spaces,” said Mr Lucas. It was much too early to visualise the full implications of the proposed trust but it could well provide the focus needed to bring greater co-ordina-tion to the very good work already being done by many agencies in out, door recreation.