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Tenure review

Tenure review was a voluntary process that gave lessees an opportunity to buy land best suited to economic use, while land with conservation values was protected and restored to full Crown ownership as conservation land.

This process ended in 2022 when the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Act came into effect, except for those reviews at the Substantive Proposal Put stage.

Final tenure reviews

There are four pastoral leases going through the final stages of tenure review: Godley Peaks, Hukarere Station, The Grampians and Dunstan Downs.

Godley Peaks

Godley Peaks pastoral lease is 14,559 hectares situated on the western shore of Lake Tekapo, north of the Cass River. Under the substantive proposal 11,875 hectares will become conservation land, including 8 hectares as a recreation reserve. The remaining 2,676 hectares will be freehold, with 376 hectares subject to a conservation covenant. These figures are subject to final survey as part of the implementation of tenure review. 

Crown pastoral lease: Godley Peaks

Hukarere Station 

Hukarere Station pastoral lease is 7,177 hectares situated in the upper reaches of the Pomahaka River, West Otago. Under the substantive proposal 1648 hectares will become conservation land, and the remaining 5529 hectares freehold with 394 hectares subject to conservation covenants.

Crown pastoral lease: Hukarere

The Grampians 

The Grampians pastoral lease is 16,057 hectares situated 20km south of Tekapo and extends into the northern Hakataramea Valley. Under the substantive proposal 6,308 hectares will become conservation land, and 9,749 hectares will be freehold with 1,522 hectares subject to conservation covenants. 

Crown pastoral lease: The Grampians

Dunstan Downs 

Dunstan Downs pastoral lease is 12,351 hectares located near Lindis Pass, 16km west of Omarama. Under the substantive proposal 12,251 hectares – 99 percent – of the lease will become conservation land. It is one of the highest percentages of a lease to become conservation land under tenure review. The remaining 99 hectares will become private land owned by the leaseholder. 

Crown pastoral lease: Dunstan Downs

 

The stages of tenure review

Stage 1: Invitation to review
  1. The lessee applied to LINZ for a review by the Commissioner of Crown Lands (CCL).
  2. We consulted with the Department of Conservation (DOC), and considered whether any neighbouring land should be included in the review.
  3. The CCL decided whether to accept the invitation.
  4. We notified the lessee whether the tenure review will proceed.

Stage 2: Information gathering
  1. We conducted property inspections of the lease, and research the history of the lease.
  2. We consulted with DOC on any features of significant value that may need protection.
  3. We consulted with Fish & Game and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu on any features of the land that may need protection.
  4. In some cases we commissioned reports that described the status and activities on the lease.
  5. We posted the reports on our web site - search for properties and view the information

Stage 3: Preliminary proposal
  1. We developed a preliminary proposal that set out:
    • the areas of the lease that could be sold to the lessee and those that could be restored to full Crown ownership
    • whether covenants or easements should be created over parts of the property
    • where any public access routes would be created.

  2. We assessed:

    • the value of the pastoral lease held by the lessee, and
    • the value of the land proposed to be freeholded to the lessee.

    We based our assessments on independent market valuations. Because these interests have different market values, there is usually a difference between the amounts. These valuations assessed:

    • the value of the lease held by the lessee over the land;
    • the value of the land to be bought by the lessee as freehold;
    • the value of the land to be returned to full Crown ownership.
  3. We presented the preliminary proposal to the lessee, and then sent it out for public submissions. We consulted with the local iwi authority at this stage.

Stage 4: Substantive proposal
  1. We considered the public and iwi submissions, and report to the Minister of Conservation on which submissions will be accepted.
  2. We consulted further with DOC and the lessee.
  3. We developed a substantive proposal that incorporates changes resulting from the submissions.
  4. We sought approval from the Minister for Land Information to fund the proposal.
  5. We sought approval from the CCL to present the substantive proposal to the lessee.
  6. We presented the substantive proposal to the lessee, who had three months to accept the proposal.
  7. If the lessee accepted the proposal, the lessee and the CCL formed a binding contract to implement the tenure review.

Stage 5: Implementation

Once the lessee accepted the substantive proposal, we implemented the agreement. This involved:

  • registering the relevant changes in Landonline (LINZ’s digital title and survey plan system);
  • finalising covenants;
  • organising the transfer of conservation land to DOC;
  • surveying and fencing.

Technical reports

LINZ commissioned a number of research reports to assist in the administering the tenure review process. Copies of these reports can be downloaded here:

 

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