New departments planned

Press, 31 May 1985, Page 14

New departments planned

The report calls on the Government to introduce legislation setting up a new Ministry for the Environment by the end of this year, in place of the present commission. It also recommends that a new department, Heritage New Zealand, be set up in place of the Lands and Survey Department, with augmented functions. It also recommends a commercial Land Development and Management Corporation, and other new agencies. The new Ministry for the Environment would have as its mission: “To ensure that the management of the nation’s natural and physical resources improves the quality of New Zealand’s environment by taking full and balanced account of the value of these resources to all groups in the community so as to meet the ends of economic development, social justice, and balanced and sustainable resource use; to reflect social, cultural and spiritual values; to preserve the qualities of the landscape; and to provide for the needs of future generations.” It would advise the Government on national and regional processes for the planning and allocation of resources. It would advise the Government on all aspects of environmental policy. Among other work, this would give it effective oversight of the town and country planning legislation and the water and soil legislation. Heritage New Zealand would have a less philosophic function. Its mission would be: “To promote the conservation of New Zealand’s natural and historic heritage; to manage protected areas and other Crown land for which no use has been determined or which are leased; and to provide and maintain integrated systems of survey, mapping and land information.” Seventeen specific functions are recommended for Heritage New Zealand. These embrace most of the functions of Lands and Survey, including taking responsibility for indigenous forests from the Forest Service and responsibility for wildlife from the Internal Affairs Department. Other assumed responsibilities include historic places from the Historic Places Trust and marine reserves from the Ministry of Transport. The Land Development and Management Corporation would be a commercial agency, as required by the Crown, “to develop lands vested in or acquired by the Crown for ultimate commercial use and to manage public and private lands on a commercial agency basis on behalf of other State organisations and private landowners.” Its function would be to develop, for ultimate commercial purposes, land so designated by a newly created Crown Estate Commission. This eight-person Commission would be appointed by and be responsible to the new Minister for Heritage New Zealand, and would replace the Land Settlement Board.

The report also recommends the establishment of a nine-person Council for Environmental Quality, appointed by and responsible to the Minister for the Environment, and would replace the Environmental Council.

A new National Parks and Nature Conservation Commission would replace the present Nature Conservation Council and National Parks and Reserves Authority. Eventually, this new commission might also take over the functions of the Fauna Protection Advisory Council and the Walkways Commission.

A body of resource guardians should also be established, the report said, tentatively named "Rangitira Kaitiaki.” These would be regional, and be set up where special circumstances were deemed to exist. Finally, a Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment should be set up to carry out audits of environmental impacts before any consent were granted. The Commissioner would have the power to require any public or private sector developer to carry out an environmental impact assessment. This Parliamentary Commissioner would have a staff of about 15 and, like the Controller and AuditorGeneral in financial management, be responsible for environmental management to Parliament but not to the Government. Oliver Riddell, Wellington reporter of “The Press,” who has been writing on forestry and conservation matters for the last 10 years, comments: Reshuffling conservation and development functions by the Government is a natural consequence of the attitudes expressed at the environment summit in Wellington three months ago.

It also enables the Government to fulfil its own election promises and the direction it has taken since assuming office. The chief stumbling block to the recommendations of the working party being adopted by the Government is likely to be the proposal that the Forest Service lose responsibility for indigenous forests.

Ripping this function from the Forest Service and giving to the proposed Heritage New Zealand, a new and augmented Lands and Survey Department, is seen by the Forest Service as an act of retribution, of revenge.

It is an act of retribution, demanded by the conservation movement for what it sees as the failure of the Forest Service to halt the clearing of native forests as sought by the Government’s Indigenous Forests Policy of 10 years ago.

A succession of statements from Forest Service officials and spokesmen for the conservation movement have argued this. The report and its recommendations are based on the conservation viewpoint. The Minister for the Environment, Mr Marshall, has denied that the proposal will cost jobs for forest workers. He said it might mean reallocation of jobs between Government departments, but not loss of jobs.

Be that as it may, it does mean a division in forestry management in New Zealand, which has alwaays been under the control of the Forest Service. It means the Forest Service would administer exotic forests and Heritage New Zealand native forests. If the Government accepts the recommendation, it will mean that it agrees with the conservation movement that the Forest Service has mismanaged native forests, and deserves to lose them.