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EDS welcomes government announcement
21 June 2007
EDS welcomes government announcement on High Country landscapes
The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has welcomed a government commitment to remove areas of outstanding lakeside landscapes from the tenure review process.
EDS Chairman Gary Taylor says that the decision “potentially protects government leasehold land that has outstanding landscape values from the threat of freeholding and subsequent subdivision"
“The decision is consistent with our argument that it is a nonsense for the government to be enabling such development by freeholding land already in public ownership whilst at the same time is buying freehold land of similar quality elsewhere to protect it,” said Mr Taylor.
“The issue has been well traversed in our many publications on landscape conservation in New Zealand and has been a focus of a number of conferences we have run.
“Land that was ostensibly valued for its farming potential was being freeholded and then developed to realise its subdivision potential. That was giving farmers windfall profits at the public expense.
“Some of New Zealand’s most iconic landscapes are along the shoreline of our High Country lakes. This policy announcement has the potential to protect them in perpetuity. It is a most welcome step.
"EDS looks forward to seeing the policy translated into individual decisions consistent with it."
ENDS
Environmental Defence Society
EDS speaks for the environment. It has influence.
Since 1971, EDS has been driving environmental protection in Aotearoa New Zealand
through law and policy change. That's why it's one of this country's most influential non-
profit organisations when it comes to achieving better environmental outcomes.
EDS has expertise in key disciplines including law, planning, landscape and science. It
operates as a policy think-tank, a litigation advocate, and a collaborator – bringing together
the private and public sectors for constructive engagement.
EDS runs conferences and seminars on topical issues, including an annual Environmental
Summit and the Climate Change and Business Conference.
EDS is a registered charity and donations to it are tax-deductible.
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