Best Use of Crown Assets: Current Situation & Key Issues

Competing demands from central, regional and local government, lessees and licensees, iwi and public interest groups impact on LINZ’s management of Crown assets. These competing demands influence decisions on matters such as land activities, sustainability of water extraction, access, erosion, pest management, tree planting, renewable energy, and reserving land for conservation estate purposes.

Environmental sustainability has moved from the periphery to become a central issue for New Zealand. This reflects not only a shift in public opinion but also recognition that some environmental limits have been reached.

Public works infrastructure projects, such as new roads and schools, require decisions to be made on the acquisition of land, including from private landowners. When government agencies wish to acquire or take land for such projects, LINZ must ensure, through its standards and statutory decisionmaking, a fair, lawful and effective process has been followed and fair compensation is paid.

The Crown’s South Island high country is environmentally sensitive, economically important and includes landscapes and scenery that make New Zealand an internationally renowned tourism destination. Affordability of rents, restrictions on land use, the multitude of regulatory consents required, and ongoing stewardship of the land are some of the key issues in this area.

The tenure review programme for assessing and reviewing pastoral leases has legally protected a number of high-priority environments and distinctive or rare ecosystems. There now needs to be wider consideration of alternative mechanisms available to protect significant inherent values while allowing for ongoing economic use, and recognising that leaseholders can be as effective stewards of the land as the Crown.

Inland water environments (lakes and rivers) are large interconnected ecosystems containing increasingly important resources. Management and property rights for these resources are currently approached on a largely ad-hoc, resource-specific basis and are coming under increasing pressure. Joint management partnerships or accords between the Crown and iwi following settlement of recent Treaty claims involving lakes and rivers have replaced Deeds of Recognition applied in earlier Treaty settlements. These require a much greater level of consultation, with an expectation LINZ will be more directly involved in managing the relationship with iwi.

Weeds and pests on Crown land impact on the use and economic viability of the land. LINZ needs to consider a range of issues with weeds and pests in different locations.