Prime Minister Christopher Luxon made the announcement alongside Conservation Minister Tama Potaka at the National Party Conference in Christchurch on Saturday.
Luxon said the current concessions system – which regulates commercial activities on Department of Conservation (DOC) land – is “totally broken,” stifling job creation and economic opportunities. He cited examples where outdated regulations have delayed tourism ventures and limited the use of modern technology like E-bikes on popular trails.
“To do anything, you need a concession – and the concessions regime is totally broken, often taking years to obtain or renew,” Luxon said. “In the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth, and higher wages, we’re going to fix the Conservation Act to unleash a fresh wave of concessions – including tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure – where it makes sense.”
Alongside regulatory reform, the Government also announced it will begin charging international visitors a fee of $20 to $40 to access high-volume tourist destinations on conservation land. Four initial sites were named: Cathedral Cove, the Tongariro Crossing, the Milford Track, and Mount Cook – all of which attract high percentages of foreign tourists.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said the revenue – projected to reach up to $62 million annually – will be reinvested directly into the conservation areas themselves.
“Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy,” Potaka said. “But it’s only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution.”
Luxon clarified that the new access fees will apply only to overseas visitors. “There will be no charge for New Zealanders to access the conservation estate,” he said. “It’s our collective inheritance, and Kiwis shouldn’t have to pay to see it.”
The Government sees these changes as part of a broader strategy to stimulate regional development, lift wages, and reduce regulatory barriers to business on public land.
Daily Telegraph New Zealand (DTNZ) is an independent news website, first published in October 2021. - where this article was sourced.
“To do anything, you need a concession – and the concessions regime is totally broken, often taking years to obtain or renew,” Luxon said. “In the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth, and higher wages, we’re going to fix the Conservation Act to unleash a fresh wave of concessions – including tourism, agriculture, and infrastructure – where it makes sense.”
Alongside regulatory reform, the Government also announced it will begin charging international visitors a fee of $20 to $40 to access high-volume tourist destinations on conservation land. Four initial sites were named: Cathedral Cove, the Tongariro Crossing, the Milford Track, and Mount Cook – all of which attract high percentages of foreign tourists.
Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said the revenue – projected to reach up to $62 million annually – will be reinvested directly into the conservation areas themselves.
“Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy,” Potaka said. “But it’s only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution.”
Luxon clarified that the new access fees will apply only to overseas visitors. “There will be no charge for New Zealanders to access the conservation estate,” he said. “It’s our collective inheritance, and Kiwis shouldn’t have to pay to see it.”
The Government sees these changes as part of a broader strategy to stimulate regional development, lift wages, and reduce regulatory barriers to business on public land.
Daily Telegraph New Zealand (DTNZ) is an independent news website, first published in October 2021. - where this article was sourced.
7 comments:
PM Luxon, Just return the Seabed and Foreshore to the Crown. No delay, No Consultation , No Argument . The NZ seabed and foreshore are non negotiable . The paltry fiddling with minimal legislation is spineless and generally has an ethical slant against all NZ.
Good idea, but will Maori demand some of those dollars as a toll ?
Are we going to see things like the facility at Punakaikai paid for by the taxpayers, given to maori, and then leased back to DoC ???
Ludicrous, and yet these sorts of things get approved by our supposedly clever administrators.
On a similar topic, how is the almost secret Options Development Group, set up to hand Crown land over to Maori, progressing ?
Looks like our corporate government has done a “closed door deal” with corporate Iwi. Jobs for the bros and koha for the suits. Nice.
Yes, this has all the hallmarks of a precursor to tribal rule of our conservation estate. Who trusts Luxon & Potaka to do the right thing by all NZrs?
So the taxpayer will fund all sorts of infrastructure and then gift it to the local Iwi?
Smells like another carriage has just been added to the gravy train. Ruapehu mayor interviewed on The Platform today was already talking about iwi involvement in funds from Tongariro Crossing. Will “expanded commercial use” open the door to mining concessions for iwi on conservation land? Seem to remember Ngai Tahu being pretty hot on that particular trail. Are Potaka and Luxon greasing their wheels here? It’s sure is a sorry state of affairs when our trust in the govt’s true intentions is so very low.
Sorry Basil, that would require too much logic, integrity, guts and intestinal fortitude on the part of Luxon & Goldsmith. Their piecemeal, slowly, slowly approach is so mindnumbingly ineffectual, we will be three electoral terms into the next Liebour/Greens and TPM coalition government before they get out of bed!
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