Concessions compliance, Conservation Act changes, upcoming fee reviews and more...
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Welcome to the first edition of this newsletter for permit and concessions holders. Our relationship with you and the business you operate on public conservation land is important to us. This newsletter is designed to help you run your business and contains practical information relevant to your permit or concession. If you have any feedback on how we can improve Business on the Green, please let us know.
Commitment to concessions compliance
DOC released its National Compliance Strategy in August. The strategy has a significant new focus on monitoring and enforcement of concessions and permits, including targeting those operating without authorisation.
While the majority of operators are compliant with the conditions of their concession / permit, some are not. We want to ensure all operators hold the appropriate permit, pay their fair share of activity fees and meet their permit conditions. Please re-familiarise yourselves with your conditions, and ensure you have business processes in place to comply with them.
Help us by being our eyes and ears on the ground. Report any suspicious or illegal activity to our 24-hour hotline 0800 DOC HOT.
Five-minute survey results
In September we sent out a survey asking permit holders and concessionaires what they thought of our current communication with them. Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our survey. We had 932 responses; including a lot of constructive suggestions for what and how we can improve.
We hope this newsletter is a first step – over 75% preferred communication from DOC via email. The topics you wanted to hear about most were: compliance activity, changes in process, biodiversity projects, changes to fee structures, volunteer projects, local issues, scheduled poison control, and track access/maintenance.
This edition includes updates on a number of these topics. We’ll look to include the other topics in the future.
Conservation Act changes for applicants
Changes to the Conservation Act that streamline concession application processes to better align them with the Resource Management Act came into effect on 18 October 2017.
These amendments will affect you if your application is deemed incomplete, is likely to require public notification or is obviously inconsistent with the Act or other statutory plans.
Where to send your application
Over the past 18 months DOC has been revising its internal system for processing permit applications so we can be more efficient.
The only change for applicants is that all applications should now be sent to permissions@doc.govt.nz rather than your local DOC office. Of course, you can still contact your local office for advice before submitting an application.
Application processing over the holiday period
DOC offices are closed between 23 December and 2 January. Processing of applications for one-off concessions will resume from 3 January. Processing of all other permits and concessions will not resume until 11 January.
New Director Southern South Island
Aaron Fleming is the new Operations Director for the Southern South Island region. Aaron has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and eight years’ experience in local government. He’s also an author, professional speaker and a nine-time Ironman athlete.
If you are in this region and have an important issue to discuss contact him on afleming@doc.govt.nz
Fee reviews
Over the next six months we will be reviewing our fees for guiding, easements, filming and grazing. If you have this type of concession you will hear from us directly about the result of the review.
However, it’s important to note that if you have an existing concession there will not be any change to your fees until your usual rental review date or when your concession comes up for renewal – whichever occurs sooner.
Beehive allocation
In 2015/16 DOC undertook a review of opportunities for the placement of beehives. All public conservation land in New Zealand was assessed and considered against certain criteria, such as the potential cultural and conservation effects of hosting beehives in that area. Suitable land was then offered by way of tender to the public.
Over the next six months we will be looking at how re-issue of beehive concessions will be managed. Cultural criteria such as kaitiakitanga and matāuranga Maori will be a key factor.
Allocating limited supply opportunities
There are areas of public conservation land where issues, such as managing environmental impacts, mean business opportunities are limited (e.g. guiding or tourism ventures, placing beehives on public conservation land and grazing stock).
There are different processes that DOC can use to decide how these concessions / permits are allocated: calling for expressions of interest, tenders, request for proposals and holding an auction.
If you have any questions or wish to register your interest for a particular limited supply opportunity, please contact your local service centre.
CMS – our handshake with the community
Conservation Management Strategies (CMS) are 10-year regional strategies developed in consultation with the public. They are important for you because they prescribe some of the things that can and can’t happen in a region, and focus on outcomes for places that are special to communities and tangata whenua.
The following strategies are currently under review:
We will let you know when these CMS are ready for consultation, so you can have your say.
Short Walks and Day Hikes
DOC recently kicked off the promotion of a Short Walks and Day Hikes network, showcasing some of New Zealand’s best walking experiences.
The network of 14 Short Walks and five Day Hikes was developed in response to research undertaken with Tourism New Zealand.
There are business opportunities for all tourism operators over the next few years to support the success of these networks. Contact your local service centre if you are interested in exploring an opportunity further.
New Great Walks in the pipeline
We are in the process of consulting with iwi, communities and other stakeholders to consider which existing walks should be ‘Great Walks’.
Clean water reforms – impacts on grazing
Regulations are currently being advanced under the Resource Management Act to exclude various stock types from waterways on three types of terrain (plains, rolling land and steep land) throughout New Zealand.
Proposed exclusions will be made in date-staggered steps and take place between approximately March 2018 and July 2030 (see Clean Water, pages 28-29, for more information).
Myrtle rust
Myrtle rust is a serious fungal disease that affects plants in the myrtle family including pōhutukawa, mānuka, and rātā.
With the arrival of warmer weather, myrtle rust is likely to bloom. Look out for bright yellow powdery eruptions on plants, likely to be located on the soft, new growth.
Myrtle rust has been found in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki; and has more recently been confirmed in Auckland and Wellington.
If you believe you’ve seen the disease:
- don’t touch it
- take photos if possible
- note the location
- contact the hotline on 0800 80 99 66.
Is there something you would like to see in this newsletter? Email us at businessonthegreen@doc.govt.nz
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National Office | PO Box 10420 | Wellington 6143 | New Zealand
