Feedback sought on changes to pastoral leases

Farmers and conservation groups will be able to have their say on proposed changes to the regulatory framework governing high-country pastoral leases after the Government announced an end to tenure review.

Land Information Minister Eugenie Sage brought forward her announcement that tenure reviews would be axed after the Newsroom website broke the news last week.

Tenure review is a voluntary process in which Crown pastoral land can be sold to a leaseholder and areas with high ecological and recreational value can be returned to Crown ownership as conservation land.

“Tenure review has seen some land protected but also large swathes, 353,000ha, have been privatised and large areas intensively farmed or subdivided,” Sage said. “This Government will stop privatisation of iconic landscapes that belong to New Zealanders and secure them for future generations.”

The remaining 171 Crown pastoral lease properties, covering 1.2 million ha, will continue to be managed under the regulatory system for Crown pastoral lands.

Sage would not say last week if the Crown would pull out of the 30 properties still going through the tenure review process, saying they would be reviewed case by case.

Tenure review has been heavily criticised as subjecting land, including native habitats, to intensive farming, and allowing people to buy Crown land and sell it for big profits.

Land Information NZ recently released a critical internal report which said the system lacked transparency.

A discussion document released yesterday outlines proposed changes to the regulatory framework, including making the Commissioner of Crown Lands’ decision-making more accountable and transparent; offering more guidance and standards for the commissioner’s decisions on leaseholder applications for the likes of burning and forestry; requiring the commissioner to consult as necessary when weighing applications for discretionary consents; and requiring regular reporting against a monitoring framework.

After public consultation, the Government will amend the Land Act 1949 and the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998. Consultation runs until April 12.