Pee Kay: What Was Next Jacinda, Ceding Sovereignty?

The Strategic Tourism Assets Protection article I wrote last week was posted on Breaking Views and one comment said –

“No comment anywhere about the Options Development Group where the objectives of the mostly Maori members are to hand most of our Crown land back to Maori.”

Well, yes there was something, undeniably underhanded, afoot with regards to the Options Development Group. This was another sordid scheme contrived by Ardern’s government that, unquestionably, can do with exposure to some sunlight!

John Porter: Our SECRET Transformational Government

Have you heard of the Options Development Group? No? I warrant you are definitely not alone in that.

For the preservation of unrestricted public access to New Zealand’s conservation estate we all need to understand who the Options Development Group (ODG) are and what the ODG are proposing.

Bear in mind, New Zealand’s conservation estate is over 2.7 million hectares or 9% of New Zealand's total land area. Around 30% of those conservation areas are held in stewardship.

Stewardship land was allocated to Department of Conservation (DOC) when it was formed in 1987. 'Stewardship' is a conservation category which provides protection based on the natural and historic values of the land.

Since DOC was established over 100,000 hectares of stewardship land has been reclassified. Much of this has occurred through transfers relating to Treaty settlements.