Access threatened?
PA Wellington Huge areas of New Zealand’s most spectacular high country will be lost to the public if runholders are allowed to buy up pastoral leases, according to the president of the Deerstalkers Association, Mr John Henderson. He said after a meeting with the Minister of Lands (Mr Elworthy) that about 3,500,000 ha of high country in the Southern Alps was held by about 500 leaseholders on pastoral leases from the Crown. Much of the land was now so eroded that it was “derelict” and unable to carry stock. The cost of trying to rehabilitate the land was being met by the taxpayer. At the same time there were instances where leaseholders could buy up the land and there were plans to allow the freeholding of “an eighth” of New Zealand. If this happened, the right of public access would disappear. “The public of New Zealand is going to end up being
able to enjoy this stuff only through glossy-picture books or by paying to go on some sort of high country safari,” Mr Henderson said. “Once these leases are freeholded, they are going to be sold to the highest bidder and you are going to get wealthy overseas people coming in. Already there are leases owned by foreigners.” A committee of inquiry into pastoral leases was established last year and a spokesman for Mr Elworthy said that Mr Elworthy had asked the Deerstalker’s Association to send to him a copy of its submissions to the committee.
The spokesman said, “The Government appreciates their (the Deerstalker’s) concerns about recreational uses. There is no commitment either way.” The spokesman said that Mr Elworthy would initially be guided by the recommendations of the committee.
The Deerstalker’s Association also protested to Mr Elworthy about the closing
of Fiordland National Park to all hunters except commercial interests and the removal of the wapiti herd from the area. The association was asked by Mr Elworthy to submit its own proposals on handling the shifting of the wapiti herd and the association’s call for a wapiti trophy shoot in the region this year.
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Press, 29 January 1982, Page 5
Word Count
349Access threatened? Press, 29 January 1982, Page 5
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