A chat around the fire
Why is the issue of Stewardship land so important to Coasters ?
Stewardship land is land that has natural and historic values; it is managed by the Department of Conservation with the goal of protecting those attributed values.
On the West Coast DoC manages approximately 792,689 ha of stewardship land. This accounts for 33.99% of the total land area of the Coast. And of course no rates are collected from stewardship land which in itself puts a permanent restraint on the size of our four Councils’ rating base.
And while much stewardship conservation land will require little in the way of Council services, it also means that significant tracts of our Districts are unavailable for housing or other development.
On the Coast we are blessed with considerable mineral resources which have the potential to provide a major and on-going boost to our livelihoods and economy. However, the classification that DoC places on stewardship land prohibits mineral exploration. Which in turn limits job creation, economic development and export earnings.
It has always been the intention of Government to have stewardship land reclassified so that a realistic call can be made on the level of natural and historic values the land possess. If the classifications are reviewed on an area-by-area basis, a portion of stewardship land would become productive and contribute to the future well-being of The Coast.
In my video presentation below, I am suggesting that stewardship land, firstly, be rateable and secondly, be reclassified by an independent body to see if some of it can indeed be released for economic pursuits. Have a listen below and let me know your thoughts on the matter.
Bruce Smith
Stewardship land with mineral potential
Why is the issue of Stewardship land so important to Coasters ?Information source:West Coast Land Evaluation Data.A joint project between the West Coast Councils has provided the following information.Visual representation of relevant layers for land evaluation. Data includes NZPAM mineral profiles, DOC land / stewardship land, WCRC resource consents, LINZ reserves, LINZ ownership parcels, and information relating to the Draft Westland Tai Poutini Natl Park Management Plan.Land StatisticsWC DOC land / WC total area: 84.23%1,964,484.83 ha / 2,335,794.45 ha WC stewardship land / WC total area: 33.99%792,689.83 ha / 2,335,794.45 ha BDC stewardship land / BDC total area: 10.62%84,482.47 ha / 795,569.27 ha GDC stewardship land / GDC total area: 41.41%145,624.47 ha / 351,705.00 ha WDC stewardship land / WDC total area: 47.33%562,582.95 ha / 1,188,520.18 ha Note: land totals corrected May 2019.Coasters we take an area that covers 33.99% of all of the land on the Coast and while it is to be reclassified as per the intention of Government when it sat stewardship land under the care of the department of conservation it is 32 years under successive governments and its because Doc will be unable to carry out an unbiased evaluation , everything will be classified as having high conservation values. The land should be shifted to an independent authority and then the various sectors compete for it based on facts.If should become rateable as that will ensure that the independent authority won’t sit around for another 32 years.By becoming rateable it offer a major decrease in rates to every coast ratepayer in some cases over 50%.Source productivity report to NZ Government 2020.Crown-owned land accounts for 39% of New Zealand’s total land area. This is distributed very unevenly across territorial authorities. Almost 90% of the land area in Buller district is Crown-owned, compared to 2.6% in Gore.(Figure7-5).Conservation land accounts for 85% of all Crown-owned land, so districts with a high-proportion of Crown land are also predominantly rural councils. Many of these districts also have small, low-income communities, which have experienced the greatest pressure on rates affordability (Chapter 8). While much conservation land will require little in the way of council services, it also means that significant tracts of a district are unavailable for housing or other development. Conservation land therefore acts as a permanent constraint on the size of a council’s rating base. Figure 7-6 provides two illustrations. Conservation land comprises almost 87% of the land in Buller district, and over 52% in Ōpōtiki. In both districts, rates as a proportion of median incomes have grown strongly, reaching 5.9% in Buller and 5.4% in Ōpōtiki in 2018.And what about the value added to New Zealand Inc?We are blessed with considerable mineral resources in the ground and that’s what starts investment for exploration and then extraction and builds export income.The following information comes from West Coast Land Evaluation Data a joint project between the West Coast Councils.When we look at mineral Potential starting with the NZPAM information is the most accurate way forward.The areas around the Arawhata bridge is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the west of the Lake Ianthe forests is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the Mine creek is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the Styx river is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential and has copper deposits identified.The areas in behind Lake Kaniere is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the Kawhaka forest is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the Houonu Forest is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around Lake Brunner Moana is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the Inangahua river is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the Marau springs junction is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential. This area is really interesting.The areas around Mount Rochfort is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around Tekuha is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas around the Lyell and Radiant range is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.The areas that include the Stockton and Denniston plateau is stewardship land and has been identified as having high mineral Potential.Now I have only shown you areas classified as high mineral potential and common sense says it needs to be evaluated independently as part of any ongoing evaluation as was intended by parliament in 1987/88.
Posted by The Coasters Club on Monday, June 8, 2020
