High-country promise recalled

Press, 16 September 1986, Page 38

High-country promise recalled

By OLIVER RIDDELL in Wellington

The Government has been called on to honour its promise that the public interest in the South Island high country would be protected.

This is the reaction of the High Country Public Lands Coalition, a group representing recreational and conservation interests, to Government announcements about the high country.

Giving administration of South Island pastoral leases to the commercially directed Land Development and Management Corporation was criticised by Dr Hugh Barr, speaking for the coalition. He said the Government had given the power over the corporation to financiers and farmers, but had no-one with recreation or conservation expertise on it. His complaints were supported by the vicepresident of Federated Mountain Clubs, Mr David Henson. Public interest in the high country could not be protected adequately by a production-orientated corporation, Mr Henson said. The Government had to provide workable machinery to protect recreation and conservation values. Instead, it had merely

required the corporation to “consult” the Conservation Department on matters of conservation significance and on nonpastoral aspects. Consultation was a vague direction and could be ignored easily. Legal backing was needed by the Conservation Department for its role in high-country management, Mr Henson said. Departmental restructuring had occurred because the old agencies could not cope with modern land-use conflicts and because their hierarchy had been biased towards production. That had led to the demand for reform.