The map included some of Hawke\u2019s Bay\u2019s most popular spots: the Kaweka and Ruahine parks, Ahuriri Estuary, Maraetotara Falls, Otatara Pa and Boundary Stream.<\/p>\n
Forest & Bird chief adviser Richard Capie claimed all these areas were \u201cin the firing line\u201d as a result of the bill.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want deck chairs for rent on our beaches as you see overseas or big hotels built on the side of our mountains.\u201d <\/p>\n
Napier MP Katie Nimon said claims that the bill threatens beloved places of conservation and recreation like the Ahuriri Estuary or Boundary Stream were \u201cwrong and blatant scaremongering\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cNational parks, marine reserves and valued conservation land stay fully protected,\u201d Nimon said.<\/p>\n
Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd said the Department of Conservation (DoC) was not trying to sell conservation land, and the bill did not establish a programme of land sales.<\/p>\n
\u201cConservation remains DoC\u2019s core purpose, and resources should be focused on protecting the places, species and habitats that matter most,\u201d Wedd said.<\/p>\n
She said the bill would help resolve practical situations where land had little or no conservation purpose, such as former public buildings, disused reserves and other surplus parcels.<\/p>\n
Forest & Bird regional conservation manager standing in for Hawke\u2019s Bay, Elvisa Van Der Leden, said based on its mapping of current fast-track projects and locally significant Hawke\u2019s Bay DoC land projects, the top area it saw as most at risk under the Conservation Amendment Bill in its current form was Ruahine Forest Park.<\/p>\n
She said the Tukituki Water Security Project (the old Ruataniwha Dam) already planned to flood part of Ruahine Forest Park and was preparing a DoC land exchange for its fast-track application.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t just a hypothetical risk under the bill \u2013 there\u2019s a live, named fast-track project pointing at this exact piece of conservation land right now. Both Forest & Bird and Fish & Game have opposed the project.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Der Leden said another area at risk was Boundary Stream Mainland Island.<\/p>\n
The bill didn\u2019t have enough safeguards for restored sites like it, with \u201cscenic reserve\u201d status, Van Der Leden said.<\/p>\n
She said if this type of conservation project area didn\u2019t clear the bill\u2019s \u201cbest example of its type\u201d or \u201cimportant for threatened species\u201d, it would put at risk places where conservation effort, including strong predator control, was working best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unclear how that test would be applied to actively restored rather than pristine habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Der Leden also claimed Ahuriri Estuary was a potential risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bill broadens the criteria for selling or exchanging public conservation land,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAreas like the Ahuriri Estuary could be sold or exchanged for private development \u2013 such as commercial or industrial rezoning \u2013 if the Government deems the site no longer critical for threatened species or as the \u2018best\u2019 example of an ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said concessions for commercial activities would be easier to obtain, with up to 40% of applications no longer requiring individual assessment. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis could pave the way for increased tourism operations, private developments, and motorised activities on or near the estuary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capie said the areas reportedly under consideration for sale held deep significance for many people in Hawke\u2019s Bay, including hunters, hikers, 4WD enthusiasts, picnickers, swimmers, anyone who enjoys the outdoors.<\/p>\n
A Curia poll commissioned by Forest & Bird found 64% of voters opposed allowing the sale of public conservation land.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Potaka defended changes to the bill and promised the Government would not be selling off huge chunks of conservation land.<\/p>\n
He said an example of what the bill could be used to help sell was an unused bowling green in the Murupara township that could be better used for affordable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what we\u2019re talking about, small parcels. There\u2019s no plan or programme to sell off huge chunks of land, that\u2019s not what we\u2019re about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nimon said the bill created a sale process for sites with no conservation value, such as a squatter-occupied Borstal in Levin, or a gravel pit in Canterbury, not places where Hawke\u2019s Bay and Napier families swim, fish or hunt.<\/p>\n
\u201cI support making sure conservation dollars go where they\u2019re needed most. Any sale is subject to strict safeguards covering conservation values, public access, recreation, heritage and cultural interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wedd said the system was out of date and the bill would deliver faster decisions, support more jobs and strengthen protection for nature.<\/p>\n
Hawke\u2019s Bay Regional Council was approached for comment but didn\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The map included some of Hawke\u2019s Bay\u2019s most popular spots: the Kaweka and Ruahine parks, Ahuriri Estuary, Maraetotara…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":494206,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4619,1975,1561,7793,1970,12974,1389,45619,7237,1976,42,46861,8307,440,11556,43,1118,5202,2171,43296,16513,5914,7192,156200,5659,3235,4504,40,38,41,39,9091,152182,1533],"class_list":["post-494205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-act","tag-at","tag-bay","tag-bays","tag-believe","tag-change","tag-conservation","tag-conservationists","tag-governments","tag-hawkes","tag-headlines","tag-landscapes","tag-law","tag-local","tag-losing","tag-news","tag-of","tag-part","tag-plans","tag-puts","tag-reason","tag-regional","tag-risk","tag-safeguards","tag-say","tag-sold","tag-theres","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-treasured","tag-treasures","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494205","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=494205"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494205\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/494206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494205"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494205"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494205"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}