8. Hon DAVID CARTER (National) Link to this
to the Minister for Land Information
Does he have confidence in Land Information New Zealand; if not, why not?
Hon DAVID PARKERWhy does he have confidence in Land Information New Zealand if he is going to have to personally vet every land tenure review proposal?
The Government has said it has concerns about outcomes of tenure review, particularly around landscape values in lakeside areas. That is the reason I am paying more attention to that issue at the moment.
Hon Marian HobbsWhy has the Government said that it is reassessing landscape outcomes from tenure review, especially around lakes?
It is hard to think of a more important landscape issue in New Zealand. These landscapes are central to the vision we have of ourselves as New Zealanders and to our tourism. These are long-held values and they are well expressed on the memorial at Burkes Pass to Michael John Burke, a runholder back in 1855. That memorial includes the words: “O ye who enter the portals of Mackenzie to found homes, … shall your mountain faces and river flats be preserved to your children’s children, and for evermore.” Those issues remain current and that is why I am paying more attention to them now.
Will he assure the House today that his decision to be personally involved in every land tenure will not delay any final decisions?
What was the point of commissioning the Donn Armstrong report into valuation methods if the Government is going to ignore totally the findings of that report?
The Government is not totally ignoring the Donn Armstrong report and, indeed, it is clear that the process of that report has led to clarity as to the rules that ought to be applied. The Government has also made it clear—and I emphasise—that it values the contribution of sustainable high country farming in New Zealand, both to the New Zealand economy and to South Island communities. The Government wants that contribution to continue and it is confident that it will.
Jacqui DeanIs the Minister aware of a proposal to transfer 20,000 acres at Mount Ida in Central Otago from Land Information New Zealand into the Department of Conservation estate, which will have the effect of probably forcing three farming families off their land, and does he care?
I am aware of the issues there that relate to the Mount Ida syndicate and the so-called Soldiers Syndicate. These are areas of land where the occupiers have no security of tenure, because they are not pastoral leases, they are non-renewable pastoral licences.
Is this Minister ever going to stand up to the relentless march by the Department of Conservation and Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society to lock up vast chunks of the South Island, which has been farmed without detriment for over 100 years?
The only mechanisms that enable land to be returned to the Department of Conservation from pastoral leases—other than consensual sales—are through the voluntary tenure review process, which is voluntary, and there is no compulsion on either lessees or tenants. [ Interruption] The member shouts out it is voluntary. There is no proposal from the Government to make it compulsory.