Conservation, development can 'co-exist’

Press, 26 July 1989, Page 3

Conservation, development can 'co-exist’

By

JANE DUNBAR

Development and conservation are not always in competition, says the Conservation Department’s new Canterbury regional manager, Mr Mike Cuddihy.

The department understood the community’s need for economic development to generate wealth, said Mr Cuddihy. Development did not have to be in competition with conservation, and could even enhance conservation values, he said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to open up national parks to development. But the fact we have huts and tracks for recreational use of parks shows we accept there can be a sympathetic use of such areas. Our lands are not completely off limits to every possible use." Mr Cuddihy has replaced Mr Kerry Mawhinney, who has become the new regional manager in Invercargill. He is keen to be a "person with a name” rather than a “faceless bureaucrat,” and is confident about his new role. As part of the new

Government service ethic, he knows he will be held accountable for the department’s spending and success in the region, but believes he will be able to meet the challenge. The department is restructuring and there is talk of further job losses.

Mr Cuddihy says it is more likely staff will be redeployed in other sections, or retrained. The Chatham Islands, Hector’s bolphins, marine reserves, and the Protected Natural Areas programme, are all subjects he expects will be controversial over the next year, but he believes they can be dealt with sensitively. The Maori dimension of the department’s affairs is one which he wants to give special attention. “We have a statutory responsibility to work more closely with the Maori, and we’re looking at employing an iwi (tribal) liaison person to make sure we’re fully aware of Maori concerns on various issues.” He also envisages a close relationship with the new Canterbury Regional Council which will have more powers in resource planning than previous regional authorities.