KEY POINTS:
The Government has confirmed development will not be allowed on Crown land around the southern lakes.
In June the Government announced that it would identify lakeside properties where it thought tenure review should not proceed, due to their important natural values.
Land Information Minister David Parker today released a list of 65 properties that would not be eligible for the process.
The effect of the decision means crown land around lakes Wakatipu, Wanaka, Pukaki, Hawea, Tekapo, Benmore, Ohau, Coleridge, Aviemore, Dunstan, Sumner, North Mavora, Heron, Alexandrina, Waitaki and Roxburgh will not be freed up for subdivision.
Mr Parker today said the step was being taken to protect "spectacular lakeside landscapes" that were part of New Zealand's identity.
He said 38 of the 65 properties had been under review, but funding for most of those reviews was now being withdrawn.
The Government said said today that pastoral lease land would not be freed up for development through the tenure review process.
Under tenure review the Government negotiates with the lessee to transfer land with significant public value to the Conservation Department, in return for a freehold over other land capable of productive use.
Lakeside properties could still be considered for tenure review, Mr Parker said, if the lessee agreed to lakeside land being retained by the Crown or accepting tight restrictions on the land's future uses and development.
He said two of the 38 properties had agreed to such conditions and tenure review funding had been approved in those cases.
However, National's agriculture spokesman David Carter today said the Government had dramatically forced up rents, making high-country farming less affordable.
The tenure review process had also created a great deal of uncertainty for many farmers, he said.
"I've been speaking to many farmers occupying these high country leases who are desperate to know if they'll be next and whether they should start packing their bags," he said.
But Mr Parker said those who were unable to afford rate rises would be able to apply for a reduction.
He said it was not the intention of the Government to drive anyone off their land.
Mr Parker said lakeside properties could still be considered for tenure review if the lessee agreed to lakeside land being retained by the Crown, or they accepted tight restrictions on the land's future uses and development.
Mr Parker also announced a new process through which lessees could seek a rent reduction.
At present lessees must pay 2 per cent of the value of their land annually.
Their rent is reviewed every 11 years and for most the value of their land has more than doubled over that period leading to a large rent hike.
Lessees would be able to seek a rent reduction in return for allowing public access across their land, doing conservation or heritage protection work on the property, or hardship.
In June, then Conservation Minister Chris Carter said the move was in response to intensive lakefront development around the southern lakes, particularly in Wanaka.
At the time National agriculture spokesman David Carter criticised the proposal saying it would drive farmers out of the high country.
The policy shift along with recent rental increases would mean families that had been working the land for generations would not be able to keep their operations viable.
The Green Party said at the time the moves did not go far enough.
- NZPA
