Radhakrishnan Priyanca; Salesa JennyCROWN PASTORAL LAND REFORM BILLThird ReadingHon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN (Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector) on behalf of the Minister for Land Information: Thank you Mr Speaker. I present a legislative statement on the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill. SPEAKER: That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website. Hon PRIYANCA RADHAKRISHNAN: I move That the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill be now read a third time.The Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill amends the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 and the Land Act 1948. It aims to deliver improved outcomes for Crown pastoral land and to end the tenure review process. The bill aims to ensure that Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) will administer Crown pastoral land in a way that maintains or enhances the inherent values of the land. Inherent values are defined as the ecological landscape cultural heritage and scientific values of the natural character of the land. These values are to be protected for present and future generations while providing for ongoing pastoral farming of the land. The changes include introducing a clear purpose and outcomes that all persons exercising powers under the Crown Pastoral Land Act 1998 and the Land Act 1948 must seek to achieve supporting strong and enduring Crown-Māori relationships and recognising the relationship of mana whenua with their ancestral lands and providing a clear more transparent statutory decision-making process with stronger accountability mechanisms and more opportunity for public input. The bill underpins the Government's view that ongoing sustainable and responsible pastoral farming is the best way for this land to be managed. It acknowledges the value and the role of leaseholders in the stewardship of these iconic properties. The bill also recognises how valued the high country is by iwi and all New Zealanders and this is reflected in the Government's decision to end tenure review. Tenure review was brought in as a voluntary process for both leaseholders and the Crown. It has resulted in 136 farm properties being able to freehold a total of 382624 hectares of Crown land. On the other hand it resulted in 340887 hectares joining the Crown's conservation estate. There has been public concern that farming intensification on some of that freehold land has resulted in a loss of indigenous biodiversity and a reduction in the inherent value of the landscape. By ending tenure review this Government is affirming the Crown's ownership and stewardship responsibilities with regard to this land. Doing this helps protect the inherent value of the landscapes. It also means that Crown pastoral leases will be available for future generations of farmers.The Environment Committee considered the bill. It received 161 submissions. The committee held six hearings in the first half of last year and reported back to Parliament on 6 July 2021. A number of valuable changes to the bill were made by the committee. The bill now provides more appropriate recognition of the Crown's obligations to its Treaty partners and mana whenua interests. Some important provisions were added by the select committee to make operating under a high-country lease more practical. Two examples are broader provision for commercial recreation permits and clarifying what can be done in emergency situations. In addition the Commissioner of Crown Lands can consider the economic benefits associated with a proposed pastoral activity in cases where the financial viability of the pastoral farming enterprise is at risk.I acknowledge the conflict between allowing public access in a lessee's land and enabling that lessee to have the right to farm that land in the way that they want and run their businesses as needed. Following feedback that the proposed public access provision could impact on a leaseholder's property rights an amendment to this provision was included in the Government Supplementary Order Paper 129 tabled in the House in February 2022. The amendment provision will require the Commissioner of Crown Lands to consider public access when determining whether to consent to the sale or subleasing of a Crown pastoral lease. If the commissioner determines that access requests have been unreasonably refused in the past the lease transfer may be made subject to the condition that the current and incoming lessees must enter a negotiation process with the commissioner with the intention that access requests will not be unreasonably refused after the first transfer. This provision is intended to strike a balance between promoting reasonable access on to Crown pastoral lease land while respecting leaseholders' property rights.LINZ has recently taken a more hands-on approach to administering Crown pastoral land. This has involved increasing visits to pastoral lessees to maintain a strong and effective connection with them. I'm confident LINZ will continue to work hard to build close and constructive working relationships with leaseholders iwi and stakeholders. This will be an important part of implementing the proposed changes in the bill. Specifically I'm aware of the work being done in the development of the regulations and standards that are needed to give effect to certain provisions in the bill. I'm expecting that consultation material will be available soon after the bill is passed into law. I want to conclude by expressing my appreciation for the time and effort by everyone who provided input into this bill in its initial development and gave feedback on the bill through the parliamentary process. I want to thank members of the Environment Committee for their diligence and ability to work through some challenging issues and tensions. I also thank officials for their servicing of the policy development and parliamentary processes. These spectacular South Island properties are special places for all New Zealanders. This bill recognises the place of pastoral farming as a legitimate use of the land while protecting the importance of the unique values of our high country to New Zealand and all New Zealanders. I commend this bill to the House. ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa): The question is that the motion be agreed to.