Our estate, our decision; referendum needed

The Department of Conservation manages over 8 million hectares of land in New Zealand supposedly on behalf of all New Zealanders. If it truly is ‘our’ property, it would be nice to have a say occasionally in some of the major decisions concerning its use.

For example the decision as to whether 7000 hectares of that 8 million should be opened to mining. The march against mining in Queen St last weekend said more about the well-oiled and organised green lobby than any definitive sign of public opinion, particularly when estimates of crowd numbers varied from 16,000 to 50,000.

Another issue regarding our land that has seen protests around the country for many years is the aerial dropping of 1080 poison over vast areas of the estate.

Strange really that by and large, those who were in the street in Auckland last weekend protesting about the damage that could be done to the land and our image if mining begins in 0.02% of the estate, do not have any problem with one the world's deadliest and inhumane poisons being dropped indiscriminately from choppers onto an increasing percentage of our forests, our streams and water ways.

It is our land, it is our taxes that pay the salaries and expenses of those who manage it, so surely these two issues should be resolved by a referendum where the public of New Zealand can make the decision clearly once and for all. Give us all the facts, let us hear all the arguments on each side, and then let us make the decision. Simple really. It's called democracy.

We need more democracy and less bureaucracy!

ENDS

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