Parks bill attacked

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 2

Parks bill attacked

PA Wellington The Natiorial : Parks Bill was so unbalanced, it should be withdrawn, said' the president of the Federated Mountain Clubs, Mr D. Henson, Mr Henson , said the bill removed the independence of the parks’ present administrators, and placed the parks into the hands of the Government. The bill was not about restructuring the administration of National Parks as claimed by the Minister of Lands (Mr V, S. . Young), he said. It was about “the complete transfer of control from independent -boards to the Minister and the Department of Lands and Survey.’* The bill lacked the safeguards of present legislation. The Minister could override the “preservation ethic fundamental to a national park,” and could control both policy and administration. The role of the new boards would be purely advisory, -.The bill should be replaced by legislation that improved administration yet preserved the independence of the authority and boards, Mr Henson said.