Wagner Nicky: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wagner Nicky: Estimates Debate — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 14 August 2012. Volume:682;Page:4373. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
NICKY WAGNER (National—Christchurch Central) 
: 
 I am pleased to take a call on the estimates for Vote Conservation. Contrary to what the previous speaker Eugenie Sage has spoken about the actual expenditure for the Department of Conservation has increased over the last 6 years. The appropriation is $444.9 million for 2012-13 and that is slightly up on the actual expenditure of $437.8 million in 2011-12. Actually that expenditure has been trending up for the last 6 years and is now almost double what it was in 2001-02. 
Vote Conservation is appropriated to support the Department of Conservation which has a goal of encouraging all New Zealanders to enjoy the conservation estate to gain the benefits from a healthy functioning ecosystem to experience its recreational opportunities and to appreciate our historic heritage. The biggest expenses are the management of the natural environment and the Department of Conservation spends $156.3 million per year on that and the management of recreational opportunities with an expenditure of $145.7 million and a capital expenditure of $59 million. 
New Zealanders are totally committed to our country being clean and green and they really do enjoy getting into the great outdoors and being part of our conservation estate. The conservation estate that this appropriation covers is 8 million hectares of land. It includes 34 marine reserves and six marine mammal sanctuaries. Of course it is a huge job to manage to protect and to conserve this environment. There will never be enough money to do all the good work that we would like to do. So the department is really working hard and thinking smart about how to stretch its dollars. It is working at developing partnerships to increase that conservation dollar. 
Over $17 million of Crown revenue comes from a third-party income and that is generated from the permissions granted by the Department of Conservation for commercial activity on conservation land. This commercial activity often has a win-win. It is things like horse trekking whale watching glacier climbing cycle trails bus tours camping grounds—hundreds of recreational opportunities and tourism experiences. These concessions get people out on to the conservation estate. They get them interested in the environment. They allow them to enjoy and appreciate our great outdoors and provide income so we can look after it. 
I was very pleased to see that in the review the Minister of Conservation is looking at the returns on concessions to ensure that we get the best possible return from the commercial use of our conservation estate. It was interesting that Eugenie Sage talked about conservation partnerships. Partnerships with corporates are becoming increasingly popular. They seem to be particularly keen on supporting our iconic birds. The kiwi the kakapo the kokako and even the pukeko have their own projects. And then dollars invested by New Zealand businesses mean that the taxpayer’s conservation dollars can go even further. 
I think we have all been captured by Sirocco the kakapo. He is the face—or should I say the beak—of the Kakapo Recovery Programme. He can be seen advocating that recovery programme on Facebook and Twitter. He has a lot of public appearances around the country. The Kakapo Recovery Programme has been sponsored by Rio Tinto Alcan since 1990. When it took that programme out there were only 50 birds alive and there was a real feeling that they may face extinction. Rio Tinto Alcan has worked hard with the Department of Conservation and the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society and there are now 129 adult birds. They have a goal to establish 150 adult breeding females and they are on their way towards that. Rio Tinto Alcan’s support is financial of course but it is also practical and strategic. The kakapo and all of us who value this special bird are the beneficiaries of that. Air New Zealand too has always been particularly supportive of conservation projects.