New Crown Estates chairman

Press, 12 September 1986, Page 22

New Crown Estates chairman

Mr Bing Lucas, the recently retired directorgeneral of the Lands and Survey Department has been named chairman of the Crown Estate Commission.

The commission is a new body which will advise the Government on the allocation or reallocation between its agencies of Crown land and water resources.

Its five members will review competing claims from the new Forestry Corporation and Department of Conservation and advise the Government about the allocation which makes “wisest use of a resource” and is in the best public interest.

Allocation of resources between agencies will be based on the need for their formal protection, conservation or commercial use, according to the Minister of Lands, Mr Wetere. The Government has already approved the initial division of land between the various agencies, but conservation aspects will

also be considered. “Crown lands and waters are those held by the present Forest Service and the Department of Lands and Survey and any others as directed by the Government,” Mr Wetere said.

The commission will have access to the services of the proposed Department of Survey and Land Information and will report to the Government through the Minister of Lands.

Other members of the commission are Ms Joan Allin (Wellington) deputy chairperson, Mr Brian Jones (Taupo), Mr Owen Jennings (Nelson), Dr Basil Sharp (Christchurch). Ms Allin is a senior law lecturer at Victoria University whose teaching responsibilities cover environmental, planning and administrative law. Mr Jones is a member of the National Parks and Reserves Authority, the National Water and Soil Conservation Authority, the National Parks Cen-

tennial Commission and the Wairakei Maori Land Advisory Committee. Mr Jennings, a dairy farmer, is director of the Queen Elizabeth II Trust and junior vice-president of Federated Farmers. Dr Sharp is a senior

lecturer at the Centre for Resource Management at the University of Canterbury. He also lectures at Lincoln College and is an advisor to catchment boards and the National Parks and Reserves Authority.