Final talks on Parks Bill

Press, 22 October 1980, Page 7

Final talks on Parks Bill

Parliamentary reporter.

Final discussions are now taking place between the Minister of Lands (Mr V. S. Young) and members of the Government caucus on the National Parks Bill. The revisions that this bill makes of the National Parks Act, 1952, have aroused a storm of controversy. i ■ Much of the controversy has been over the relationship between the Minister and the reconstituted National Parks Authority. Many of the powers the authority had under the old legislation have been transferred to the Minister.

The bill has been before the Lands and Agriculture Select Committee of Parliament for several months. The committee has fin-

ished hearing submissions and the bill is due to be referred , back to the chamber for its Second reading. Mr Young said a number of changes were being made to the bill .to accommodate some' of the more reasonable objections to it. He declined to. say what these changes were aS .he had not yet gained complete agreement to them from his Government colleagues. . . ' ' - However, it was necessary that the bill be passed into law by the end of the 1980 session of Parliament as the existing National Parks Authority and National Park Boards were due to go out of existence in January and would have to be replaced by appointees under the new act before then, Mr Young said.