KEY POINTS:
The Government's $40 million purchase of spectacular central South Island high-country land has been condemned by a farming group as "irresponsible".
The acquisition of the 78,196ha St James Station - described by the Prime Minister as "staggering in scale and in terms of its natural attributes" - is aimed at protecting it from development and guaranteeing public access.
But the High Country Accord, representing high-country farmers, has warned public ownership of the station will cost the taxpayer heavily.
"The Government is guilty of a gross misallocation of taxpayer funds by expanding Crown ownership of high-country farmland, especially in the wake of the dire predictions for the economy over the next decade," said accord chairman Ben Todhunter.
"At a time when the Government's books are empty, there is still big money for the Prime Minister's pet projects."
Mr Todhunter said the high country was prone to weed invasion and had to be maintained at substantial expense.
"An expense which was previously paid for by the farmer. The Prime Minister has just handed this burden to taxpayers and the Department of Conservation [DoC] - a department that struggles even in the best of times to control weeds and pests on its vast estates.
"How much better it would be for taxpayers and the economy if DoC was encouraged to work with private landholders to maximise conservation values on private land."
Since 2002 the Government had taken an area of high country more than twice the size of Stewart Island, and at "vast cost", removed it from farming and added it to the conservation estate.
Rental increases on leasehold had in some cases forced farming families to sell, and often only the Crown was in a position to buy, Mr Todhunter said.
Recreation and conservation advocates have applauded the purchase of the station, which completes a "protected corridor" between the east and west coasts of the island.
