Park gifts subsidised

Press, 10 March 1984, Page 2

Park gifts subsidised

Parliamentary reporter

Public donations to national parks and reserves will get a Government subsidy of more than $300,000, and the Mount Cook and Westland national parks will be two of the biggest beneficiaries.

The Government would subsidise the $156,612 given by the public in 1983 on the basis of $2 for $l, said the Minister of Lands, Mr

Elworthy. The money would be used to provide public huts, improve rescue equipment, and publicity material on the biological,natural, and historical features of the parks. Some donors had tagged their donations for a specific purpose, he said. For example, Mount Cook National Park had been given $25,000 to build a new hut and Westland National

Park had been given $lO,OOO to replace the Pioneer Hut, which was unsafe. Other gifts had been to provide natural history films, radio equipment, a telescope, improvements to facilities for visitors, and the construction and maintenance of tracks, Mr Elworthy said. Most donors had left it to the park administrators to decide how the money was used.