Brash pledges to clip DoC 'tentacles'

National leader Don Brash has attacked the Department of Conservation, promising a full review of its mission and functions.

Dr Brash told the Federated Farmers annual conference at the South Island's Molesworth Station that the DoC needed a new mandate and mission statement.

"We know the DoC's tentacles are everywhere, to the frustration of farmers throughout New Zealand."

Dr Brash said the review would confirm the DoC's focus on its core task of protecting New Zealand's unique flora and endangered species.

He said it would also narrow the department's advocacy responsibility to biosecurity and biodiversity where it had specific expertise.

He attacked the pastoral lease tenure review - started in 1998 by National - which lets South Island high country leaseholders negotiate to surrender unproductive land to the DoC, leaving them to buy the remainder freehold.

Dr Brash said they were "land grabs" and he would change the process so it would not concentrate on Crown ownership and DoC control.

He also accused the Government of not negotiating in good faith by threatening to change the conditions of pastoral leases. And he criticised the millions of taxpayer dollars being used to buy high country leases. 

Land Information Minister Pete Hodgson said the speech threw into "stark relief" the fact that National was prepared to attack anything - including the heart of the New Zealand environment - to get votes.

"The man is entirely bewildered. He's apparently not familiar with what his own party did in the 1990s."

National MP Nick Smith, a former conservation minister in the last National government, said the review was needed.

"DOC's got quite out of control, particularly in its advocacy functions, and has shifted away from its core stuff around protected species and management of national parks."

Dr Smith said he was concerned the DoC was putting more emphasis on gaining control of the high country. The underlying assumption in the Government's approach was that the land would be better managed if it was in departmental hands.

"The track record shows something different. Some of the weediest parts of the South Island high country are those in DoC control."

Dr Brash also accused the Government of artificially raising prices to force leaseholders off the land. He cited the purchase of Otago's Birchwood Station lease for $10 million as an example.

Such valuations artificially created price pressures, forcing leaseholders to leave the land when their returns would not support new leasing costs.

Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said Dr Brash's "DoC-bashing" illustrated his ignorance and extremism on conservation.

"To suggest that any land taken out of farming for other values is making New Zealand poorer is a barbaric attitude to Kiwi culture. She said rare flora and fauna had been extinguished by indiscriminate burning, and over-grazing and uncontrolled rabbits had turned some areas into virtual desert.

When the tenure review started in 1998 there were 304 pastoral leases covering more than 2 million hectares. Thirty-four reviews have been completed so far and more than 100,000ha has been freeholded.

What is the DoC?

* Task: conserving New Zealand's natural and historic heritage

* Staff: almost 1500 permanent staff and up to 500 temporary and seasonal workers

* Administers: 8 million hectares or about 30 per cent of New Zealand's land area

* Budget: about $240 million in 2003-04 financial year