Hunter Valley Station access issues continue to bewilder
I WISH to clarify a few points following comments made by Gerrard Eckhoff (8.8.18) on my letter about access through Hunter Valley Station.
I sincerely wish the general public could access the Hawea Conservation Park, but the condition of the road beyond the station buildings precludes this at present.
I agree with Mr Eckhoff that if more access was provided, the matter of human waste would be a problem and, in my opinion, freedom camping would need to be prohibited.
I am not advocating access for the privileged few — only those who satisfy the station’s practical requirements.After all, the station staff suffer considerable inconvenience rescuing those that get into difficulties.
Regarding property rights and privacy, I tried to make the point that most people who want to access the conservation park respect these, but are forced to go through the station because there is no other way.
More grist to the mill for the Government to build a new road to replace the one that was drowned when the lake was raised for more hydro storage in the 1960s.
As in my letter, the other side of Lake Hawea might be best for that. Jerry Walton
Dunedin
REGARDING the letter from Jerry Walton (ODT, 6.8.18) and the view that a foreigner like Matt Lauer should never have been allowed to buy the lease in the first place.
As Mr Walton may be aware, Hunter Valley Station had been for sale for a long period of time with no interest from New Zealand buyers whatsoever.
Going through the Overseas Investment Office is a long involved process. The positives are that the money paid stays in New Zealand, with the former lessees, who should receive some reward for their years of hard work, on the land.
Mr Lauer has already spent a great deal of money improving access in difficult and unforgiving terrain. You only have to look at the improvements made by Mutt Lange with Motatapu, Soho and Coronet stations.
Not all foreign ownership is bad. The land is not going anywhere. Sharon Alderson
Wanaka