Govt asked to hand entire conservation estate to Maori

The Herald reports:

National leader Judith Collins says she has been leaked documents that recommend the Government undertakes a major shake-up to Department of Conservation (DoC) land.

The document, which National passed on to media this morning, outlines a number of draft recommendations from the Options Development Group – a body tasted with reviewing conservation policies.

The group has recommended that the Conservation Act be reviewed and replaced with a system which better honours Te Tiriti/ the Treaty of Waitangi.

It also asks that the Government reforms all conservation entities, including DoC, to better reflect Te Tiriti partnerships, and that the Crown revokes its ownership of indigenous species.

Collins has specifically questioned one of the draft recommendations: “[To] provide for the delegation, transfer and devolution of functions and powers within the conservation system to tangata whenua”.

What will the compromise be? Only 50% of the conservation estate?