Molesworth becomes DoC park

By ANNE BESTON environment reporter

A large chunk of the New Zealand high country will become a permanent park under plans outlined by Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday.

But the decision to make historic Molesworth Station a public reserve under Department of Conservation control is being greeted with scepticism by farmers.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Conservation Minister Chris Carter and Land Information Minister John Tamihere, flew by helicopter into the 180,000ha station to announce that from July next year the Landcorp-managed station will switch to DoC management.

National Party agriculture spokesman David Carter and Federated Farmers say DoC is unable to manage pests on the land, but the Prime Minister promises that the department will be given the money to do the job.

"We are looking at expanding the network of high-country reserves over time and as you expand the responsibilities you expect the budget to grow to resource it."

But a Federated Farmers spokesman, Wanaka-based farmer John Aspinall, said the Government was bowing to pressure from the conservation lobby.

"We would much prefer management to stay with Land Information New Zealand. I think this is a response to political pressure by groups like Forest and Bird. The land is best managed under multiple use and that includes farming," he said.

Molesworth, which spans an area the size of Stewart Island, is the kind of country often celebrated in television commercials.

It is home to endangered species, including 77 plants and lizards, and the New Zealand falcon.

The station has four "cob" buildings listed with the Historic Places Trust, including a drover's hut built in 1862.

Fifteen per cent of Molesworth is open to the public but that will change. About 47,000ha will become "designated conservation zone" as soon as the station gets its new landlord in July next year.

Mr Carter said the station was a conservation "hot spot", a priority area because of the number of endangered species.

There were no plans to move a particular species into Molesworth once it became a reserve but the station could provide an "opportunity" in the future.

He acknowledged farmers' concerns about pest and weed control.

"We have already been working here for some time and I expect we will be looking at what resources we need to do the job properly."

Molesworth came into being when farming failed on the unforgiving land. It has been managed profitably by Landcorp, part of Land Information New Zealand, for 15 years but Helen Clark said its new status meant it could never be put "up on the blocks" if a future Government decided to privatise Landcorp's holdings.

"That has been the danger hanging over its head."

But Act deputy leader Ken Shirley called the decision a cynical attempt to harness public sentiment on access issues, which would be a disaster for land management, the environment and the taxpayer.

Landcorp had made startling gains in pest control, combating the spread of noxious weeds and TB-infected possums, while DoC had an appalling record in these areas.

DoC was widely recognised by farmers as the "neighbour from hell".

David Carter said yesterday that it was a "major land grab which will ultimately destroy our best-known high-country station".

A Council of Outdoor Recreation Associations spokesman, Hugh Barr, said the area had outstanding scenery, roads, fishing, tramping, hunting and mountainbike areas.

Until now it had been difficult to access.