Authority firm on destocking policy

Press, 13 March 1985, Page 3

Authority firm on destocking policy

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

A strong line on-the retirement and surrender of destocked high-country pastoral leases has been taken by the National Water and Soil Conservation Authority. At its meeting in Wellington yesterday, the authority met the Minister of Works and Development, Mr Colman, who affirmed the Government’s wish for pastoral leases to be surrendered on retirement.

As a result, the authority adopted a four-part resolution:

• Reaffirm its policy aims for the destocking of

severely eroding South Island high country.

• Reaffirm its view that matters relating to the tenure of, and access to, retired pastoral leases lands are beyond its statutory functions and are generally the responsibility of the Land Settlement Board. • Note that a major downturn in the progress of destocking severely eroded lands occurred when compulsory surrender of retired pastoral lease lands was a mandatory condition of the approval in the past. • Require catchment authorities to ensure that the authority’s policies, directives, and delegations

in this matter are being applied properly and that legal agreements made are being honoured and put into effect.

The authority, in effect, mounted a holding operation until the joint report of its officials and those of the Land Settlement Board is completed, probably in May. The authority has always resisted involvement in questions of land tenure and land access. It has tried, not always successfully, to keep matters of high-country tenure, access, and occupation outside its own purview and in the hands of the Land Settlement Board.

However, recent attacks by the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society suggesting either that the Government was reneging on its election manifesto, or that the authority’s officers were thwarting that policy, have annoyed the authority. It was desirable that the authority publicly reaffirm its policies, said Mr A. J. Warrington, an official of the authority’s directorate.

Further, he said, the authority should resist and oppose the reintroduction of a mandatory requirement for compulsory surrender being attached to the authority’s statutory functions, on the? grounds that past experience had shown it to be an impediment to destocking severely eroded high country.