Govt tightens protections for treasured Crown land

The government today announced a new process for the sale of all Crown-owned land to ensure national interests including heritage, cultural, local and recreational values are better protected.

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The government today announced a new process for the sale of all Crown-owned land to ensure national interests including heritage, cultural, local and recreational values are better protected.

State Owned Enterprises Minister Trevor Mallard and Land Information Minister David Parker said the new process modifies an interim process that was put in place in April - the aim being to protect the wider national interest when land is intended for disposal by government departments, state-owned enterprises and Crown entities.

"The new process will also ensure heritage, cultural, local and recreational values are fully taken into account. The Labour-led government shared the concerns raised by communities across New Zealand about losing treasured land that has special value beyond just dollars and this new land disposal policy addresses those concerns," Trevor Mallard said.

"This is an issue that affects all New Zealanders, Maori and non-Maori, and we want to ensure that we have the processes right when there are proposals to dispose of Crown land, to ensure those significant land areas are protected."

Trevor Mallard also announced that state-owned Landcorp had agreed to retain ownership of nine properties - including Whenuakite on the Coromandel Peninsula and Rangiputa in Northland which it was planning to sell - in return for market value compensation from the Crown, by way of an immediate equity injection worth $52.2 million, plus deferred dividends over four years worth $52.347 million.

"Landcorp will in the interim retain ownership of the properties in a new wholly owned subsidiary, Landcorp Holdings Ltd, and Landcorp will continue to farm the properties as usual, and will continue to protect conservation and other natural values on each property.

"Landcorp benefits by being able to continue with its strategy of farm clustering through purchase and increasing productivity, while the Crown benefits by being able to require the transfer of any of the nine properties from Landcorp at any time in the future, and for any public policy reason, such as recreation or heritage sites, or for possible treaty settlements.

Land Information (LINZ) is to manage the new process for the disposal of Crown Land, having managed the interim process, David Parker said.
"The main criteria for determining whether land is 'of potential interest' are those set out in the Overseas Investment Act 2005, with the inclusion of new criteria such as wetlands or known archaeological sites," he said.

"The final policy also removes the criteria imposed under the interim arrangement that captured land worth more than $1 million. This resulted in non-sensitive land of high value, particularly in urban areas, being considered. This criteria has now been dropped which means that monetary value no longer determines whether a piece of land is captured by the disposal process.

"The chief executive of Land Information New Zealand will assess any land deemed to be 'of interest' and along with other relevant agencies determine whether there are any potential values that require protection," said David Parker.

LINZ's chief executive will report back to a Ministerial Group made up of the Minister for State Owned Enterprises, the Minister for Land Information and the landholding Minister. This group, in consultation with the Minister of Finance, will determine the appropriate protection mechanisms and compensation, if any, for the land.

If it is decided that the land is suitable for sale, the process will ensure that local government agencies, the Historic Places Trust, Office of Treaty Settlements, Te Puni Kokiri and any other relevant departments are appropriately notified before the sale takes place.

Crown-owned land that is being put into a new lease for more than 25 years will be treated as a disposal and be subject to this new process. The process does not over-ride existing statutory processes such as land being acquired by former owners through offer-back under the Public Works Act 1981.

The process will be reviewed in February 2009.

The cabinet paper is available on www.linz.govt.nz/home/news/items/20070928-disposal-crown-land/index.html