The Mackenzie District Council confirms a consent application from Blue Lake Investment (NZ) Ltd – which wants to build the 805 square metre lodge, 40 metres from Pukaki’s shore, for company director Ka Kit “Peter” Lee – has been referred directly to the Environment Court.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage is not ruling out a moratorium on the tenure review process, as pressure on the process mounts on land use in the central South Island’s Mackenzie Basin.
…….If one asks the various parties as to who is winning, then all would say it is someone else. No one is satisfied with current outcomes, at least in their public statements, because everyone wants more. However, there is little doubt that the pendulum has swung, such that whereas some high country farmers were previously getting wins in regard to irrigation and subdivision for lifestyle blocks, most are now on the back foot. The rules of the game have indeed changed.
Poor planning provisions and ‘‘a lack of thinking through what other agencies are trying to achieve’’ has led to ‘‘a perfect storm’’ and ecological loss in the Mackenzie Basin, Forest & Bird says.
‘‘We are really, really pleased that the agencies understand that they have been culpable in enabling the loss that we’ve seen down there,’’ Ms Miller said. ‘‘They understand that. And it’s been a question of them simply not working together.
‘‘Let’s face it, we’re getting to the point where we’re at a serious tipping point….’’
Close to 25 per cent of the Mackenzie Basin has undergone farming intensification over the last 15 years. The numbers come from a $70,000 report on the Mackenzie Basin released this week.
Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said the report was “honest” in setting out some of the failures in high country management by central and local government.
“The vision for the Basin has always included a balance of agriculture, tourism and conservation. In recent years we’ve seen significant advancements in tourism and agriculture while conservation protection has struggled to keep up. This report allows us to take a streamlined approach in our work to address this.”
When the Crown sells Crown land on the shores of Lakes Wanaka, Tekapo, and the southern lakes, it should make money. The problem is, for 25 years we’ve been selling this iconic land dear to the heart of the nation and losing money. The solution is simple – stop tenure review deals, now. Better late than never.
Fish farming in Mackenzie Basin hydro canals is feeding worms usually found in sewage, aquatic expert Rowan Wells says.
Wells, a NIWA freshwater botanist, monitored the health of the glacier-fed water and said the ecosystem in the waterways around the area’s salmon farms was clearly degraded.
The last meeting of a fully-elected Environment Canterbury in 2010. The casket symbolised the death of democracy.
Sacking democratically elected Environment Canterbury Councillors was a move that outraged the Law Society Rule of Law Committee which denounced the ECan Act as repugnant to the Rule of Law. Almost everyone was appalled. Eight years on………
