The Government has introduced a new law that could result in intensive development, and even sale, of South Island High Country.
“This land is held in Crown pastoral lease, where government owns the title, so it belongs to all New Zealanders. It comprises around 1.2 million hectares of our iconic high altitude land, famed for its vast open natural landscapes and high indigenous biodiversity values,” say EDS Chief Operating Officer Shay Schlaepfer.
“The Crown Land Legislation Amendment Bill provides leaseholders with development opportunities that are inconsistent with maintaining and enhancing these important values.
“EDS acknowledges the challenges associated with pastoral farming in the High Country. Weeds and pests, in particular, pose a serious threat to the land’s values. Diversification of land use can help to ease the financial burden of controlling these invasions and make farming more profitable generally.
“However, the unique values of the High Country necessitate a careful approach to increased development. The Bill does not provide enough checks and balances on this. Activities enabled by the Bill are not defined, and there are no limits on their scale.
“Potentially this could mean large abattoirs, industrial solar farms, and extensive horticulture or viticulture resulting in permanent land use change and cumulative loss of the High Country’s inherent values. The Bill needs to include better constraints on these activities.
“Positively, carbon farming has not been included in the list of activities provided for. EDS congratulates Ministers for not going down that route as previously suggested.
“The Bill also provides for disposal of High Country land when the public benefits of the disposal outweigh the negative effects on the land’s values. There are some sensible constraints around that, but the Bill still provides for disposals even when the land has high landscape and indigenous biodiversity values. That should not be allowed to occur,” concludes Ms Schlaepfer.