NO PRIVATISATION OF CONSERVATION LAND

The Government has no plans to sell land with significant conservation values, the Minister of Conservation, Denis Marshall, said today.

"Media reports have suggested that the Treasury wants the Department of Conservation to consider selling significant areas of conservation land to free up money for other operations."

"It is not the Government's policy to do this."

"As I told the New Zealand Conservation Authority two weeks ago, because the land allocation process in the late 1980's wasn't perfect, DoC holds some small parcels of land with little or no conservation value. While the vast bulk of the land DoC holds was assessed on a case-by-case basis, all reserves were transferred to DoC without their conservation values being assessed."

"DoC does not need to hold these areas of land and should be able to easily dispose of them."

"Such disposals make sense because they allow DoC to concentrate on its core activity, which is to manage land for conservation purposes."

The department has to go through a comprehensive and expensive process when it decides to dispose of an area of land, Mr Marshall said.

"Areas of high conservation value, including National Parks, could not be sold without special legislation. It is most unlikely that Parliament would ever approve the legislation to dispose of this land."

Stewardship land and reserves also have to go through a public process.

For instance, the department has to publicly notify its intention to dispose of the land. It has to investigate whether it has to offer the land back to the original owners under Section 40 of the Public Works Act, or whether the land qualifies under the protection mechanism for Maori interests.

On top of that are the administrative disposal costs, such as surveys, local authority, legal and valuation fees, estate agents' commissions and marketing costs.

This all take DoC's time and cost money, Mr Marshall said.

"While these costs might exceed the sale proceeds, this process protects the public interest."

"The Department of Conservation holds land to protect both the conservation values and the publics interest in that land. Privatising land with conservation values would endanger those values and remove the publics right of access."

"Neither the public nor the Government would accept that."