Conservation cuts

Press, 15 September 1988, Page 14

Conservation cuts

Sir, —The Minister of Conservation, Ms Helen Clark, says that redundancies in the Department of Conservation were because of overspending in the last financial year. Perhaps she could inform us through your newspaper whether those responsible for the overspending were among the redundant. It would also be interesting to know whether areas which kept within their budget were less affected by the cuts than those which overspent. Four or five years ago I spent some days as a volunteer with the Wildlife Service. The officer I worked with was Jim Jolly. I have had no contact with him since, but retain a very vivid memory of the number of hours we worked, 16 to 18 hours a day. As kiwis are nocturnal, to observe them it was necessary to be out half the night, and yet all day we scrambled up and down through the steep, dense bush checking burrows. No overtime was paid. It is even sadder to think such dedicated public servants can be dispensed with if those responsible carry on regardless.—Yours, etc., EVELYN ROBINS. August 31, 1988. [Ms Helen Clark replies: “The Government allocates a sum of money for expenditure on conservation. The Department of Conservation must then spend that money in a way which will maximise the conservation output. The distribution of funds between districts within the Department of Conservation was therefore, determined by the de- - .

partment according to the priority of the conservation projects intended to be carried out. Your correspondent can be assured that the management and structure of the department is currently being reviewed to ensure that the overspending which occurred last year is not repeated.”]