NATIONAL RESERVES

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 August 1935, Page 7

NATIONAL RESERVES

PUBLIC RIGHTS UPHELD.

[PER press association.]

WELLINGTON, August 9. » The need to preserve the right of the public to the use of national reserves 'was emphasised at a meeting of the Federated Mountain Clubs of New Zealand, when Mr. L. O. Hooker presided. It was stated that the whole policy of the Government towards the national reserves called for the attention of the federation. The following principles, to be followed in the formulation of the Federation’s policy about reserves, were stated:—

That the public right of access to national reserves must be preserved. That the right in authenticated clubs to erect huts in such reserves must not be restricted. That the public’s right of camping in such iieseryes must be maintained. That no national reserves should be leased to private interests and that no existing leases should be renewed on their present terms. That before any lease of any reserve is granted, the federation should be consulted. That' the federation is entitled as of right to representation on all park boards controlling mountain areas./ That the existing areas of bush must be preserved and subsidies should be granted to the bodies concerned to ensure such preservation. Messrs Hooker, A. P. Harper, F. W. Vosseler and S. A. Wren were appointed a sub-committee to carry out ■this policy, it being laid down that if, after presentations had been made to official quarters, satisfactory answers were not received, all candidate at the General Election should be approached with a request to define their policy on the use of national parks.