It's 9.00am mid-winter at Lee Bay on Stewart Island, and the final cattle are being rounded up ready to be transported back to the mainland later that same day. These are the last remaining cattle on once an island abundant in farming activity. Nowdays, the economics of farming on remote areas doesn't make it appealing any longer.
Land is much sort after for development of a different kind.
It's rumored this land will soon become part of a new visitor tourism facility. District Council chief executive Michael Ross explains that Stewart Island residents could not be held responsible for the extra capital development costs. Residents already paid more money than mainlanders for services such as power. The council was concerned any government decision to create a national park would not create extra costs for the islanders. We're applying for central government funding to assist in that transformation.