‘Herd of special interest' status possible
A wapiti deer in Fiordland National Park. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Wapiti deer, an introduced breed, may become a "herd of special interest" (HOSI) in Fiordland National Park
Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager said the wapiti HOSI represented an opportunity for economic growth in regional New Zealand. He also confirmed it would allow an introduced animal to be left to live in a national park.
"Better, healthier deer herds provide opportunities for domestic and international visitors to hunt the only free-range wapiti herd outside of North America," Mr Meager said.
"The wapiti HOSI builds on existing community efforts of the hunter-led Fiordland Wapiti Foundation to manage the deer population for hunting and conservation purposes. The foundation has been successfully managing populations in the Fiordland National Park for years, and this HOSI will give certainty and support to continue their work for years to come.
"A successful HOSI will improve herd and trophy health, better manage the impact of valued and other introduced species and continue to improve conservation outcomes such as improved biodiversity and protection for native flora and fauna."
The next step in the process is to consult with interested parties.
The Department of Conservation will publicly notify a draft herd management plan after engagement with key parties is complete. This is expected to take place in the fourth quarter of 2025.
To support the wapiti HOSI, the government will also introduce a Bill to Parliament to clarify the designation of HOSI in national parks, through a small amendment to the Game Animal Council Act 2013. The Bill will clarify that HOSI can be established in national parks as was originally intended and clarify the existing legislation.
"The National Parks Act's requirement to 'exterminate' introduced animals as far as possible is clearly at odds with the purpose of designating a HOSI, which is to manage game animals for hunting and conservation outcomes," Mr Meager said.
"The GAC Act always intended for HOSI to be allowed in national parks, and by introducing this Bill, we aim to provide clarity for all involved. The legislation will retain the requirements for HOSI to be consistent with New Zealand's wider conservation framework, including the preservation of indigenous habitats and natural features."
The public will have the opportunity to submit on the Bill at the select committee stage.
The Fiordland wapiti herd was established after United States President Theodore Roosevelt gave 18 wapiti deer to New Zealand in 1905.
A HOSI designation is a tool to maintain a quality population of animals hunters value as well as reducing the environmental impacts of these animals. It can also help raise New Zealand's profile as an international hunting destination.
The GAC Amendment Bill does not change the National Parks Act. It also does not establish a HOSI. The process to do so will remain unchanged, including the requirement to go through public consultation.
— APL
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
1News
12 hours ago
- 1News
The one prominent billboard turning heads in the Beehive
In a move reminiscent of stations on Washington DC's metro system, a towering digital billboard opposite Parliament has become the latest battleground for lobbyists seeking to influence policymakers. However, what's being flogged in Wellington is more political messaging than military hardware from defence contractors. An increasing number of campaigning organisations are buying time on the Whitmore St site, including Federated Farmers, the Motor Trade Association, Rewiring Aotearoa, and even a retired doctor calling out both major parties on the rebuild of Dunedin Hospital. Several of those organisations also highlighted to media their deliberate purchase of space on the billboard. In a release, the MTA said, 'to make sure Government MPs see where they're passing and failing, MTA has taken out billboard space right under their eyes, across the road from the Beehive.' And Federated Farmers spokesperson Toby Williams said, 'it's a clear target at the politicians, and the bureaucrats who make the decisions.' ADVERTISEMENT 'We want them thinking on their lunch breaks and when they're walking through the halls of Parliament, look out at our billboard and just get a really clear message from farmers.' Q+A asked around Parliament whether the messages have been noticed. Minister Chris Bishop said he'd noticed it, saying 'we travel from Parliament down that street, so it's pretty hard not to notice. To be honest, it's clever.' Labour MP Kieran McAnulty said he'd also noticed the billboard and offered support for the Federated Farmers campaign. But neither of those MPs is the primary target for two of the campaigns – that honour goes to energy and climate change minister Simon Watts. Watts appears on the billboard photoshopped into a superhero costume, as part of the Rewiring Aotearoa "MegaWatts" campaign. The minister points out that he didn't pay for it to go up. But he did note the billboards are visible from the ninth floor of the Beehive, where the Prime Minister has his office. ADVERTISEMENT The billboard is in prime position, but when asked whether that meant it cost a premium, billboard owner Lumo declined to comment. The Campaign Company has placed ads on the billboard, and general manager Ani O'Brien said the location has been a key consideration. 'A couple of our campaigns recently have been placed on the Lumo site on Whitmore Street, and that is visible from ministerial offices, and so that has been a very conscious part of our strategy because the message has been one that they want politicians to see and understand,' said O'Brien. But does the billboard actually change the minds of politicians and their staff? Simon Watts was sceptical on that point. 'I don't get caught up in ads. I'm focused as minister on energy affordability and security, and I don't need an ad to remind me of that.' Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer On The Longest Suspension In Parliament
She says the Privileges Committee process is not equipped to deal with the haka issue. Saturday Morning This week, Parliament took the unprecedented step of suspending both Te Pāti Māori leaders – Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi – for 21 days. Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke was suspended for seven days – but had also been punished with a 24-hour suspension on the day over a haka all three had performed in Parliament, against the Treaty Principles Bill, in November. It is against the rules of the House for members to leave their seats during a debate – which all three did. Ngarewa-Packer told Saturday Morning that the 21-day suspension, which was seven times harsher than any previous sanction an MP has faced, was not proportionate. 'I think the backlash from the public, nationally and internationally, validates that,' she said. Previously, the longest suspension for an MP had been three days, given to the former prime minister Robert Muldoon for criticising the speaker in the 1980s. While New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the duration of the suspension would have been lessened if the Te Pāti Māori MPs had apologised, Ngarewa-Packer said that was never requested by the Privileges Committee. 'What we have here is a situation where, and some are calling it Trumpism, we've been a lot more specific – we have an Atlas agenda that has not only crept in, it's stormed in on the shores of Aotearoa and some may not understand what that means, but this is just the extension of the attack on the treaty, on the attack on Indigenous voices. 'We made the point the whole way through when we started to see that they weren't going to be able to meet us halfway on anything, even a quarter of the way, on any of the requests for tikanga experts, for legal experts when we knew the bias of the committee.' Ngarewa-Packer added that the Privileges Committee process was not equipped to deal with the issue. 'We hit a nerve and we can call it a colonial nerve, we can call it institutional nerve… 'I think that this will be looked back on at some stage and say how ridiculous we looked back in 2025.' Ngarewa-Packer also added that the language from Peters during the debate on Thursday was 'all very deliberate' – 'and that's what we're contending with in Aotearoa'. 'Everyone should have a view but don't use the might of legislation and the power to be able to assert your racism and assert your anti-Māori, anti-Treaty agenda.' Peters had taken aim at Waititi on Thursday as 'the one in the cowboy hat' and 'scribbles on his face' in reference to his mataora moko. He said countless haka have taken place in Parliament but only after first consulting the Speaker. 'They told the media they were going to do it, but they didn't tell the Speaker did they?' Peters added that Te Pāti Māori were 'a bunch of extremists' and that 'New Zealand has had enough of them'. 'They don't want democracy, they want anarchy,' he said. 'They don't want one country, they don't want one law, they don't want one people.'
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
Suspended Te Pāti Māori MPs To Embark On National Tour
Te Pti Mori says it will continue to stand its ground as three MPs begin their record suspensions. , Political Reporter Te Pāti Māori says it will continue to stand its ground as three MPs begin their record suspensions. On Thursday night, Parliament dealt its harshest ever punishment by suspending co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer for 21 days, and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke for seven. The trio were sanctioned for their actions during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill in November. Parliament's privileges committee deemed the haka the MPs performed could have 'intimidated' others. Government parties supported the recommended suspension. Labour agreed they should face some sanction, but disagreed with the length of time the committee had landed on. Speaking to media after their suspension was handed down, the MPs said they planned to use their time away from the House to organise. 'We're going to go home and show that we stood our ground,' Ngarewa-Packer said. The party now has the Regulatory Standards Bill in its sights, and will use its time away to encourage supporters to make submissions against it. Party president John Tamihere told Midday Report the party was feeling 'very chipper' and the co-leaders would embark on a national tour. 'What we've got to do is just get out on our streets, in all our pā up and down the country, activate, organise and that's where we're going now.' Accusing Parliament of being a 'very unhealthy place' for Māori, Tamihere said the MPs would apologise once it was made clear what they would be apologising for. 'If you're saying we should apologise for bringing the tikanga that displays our reo, which is the haka, into the House… see, we're not here to just appear for tourists. We're not here to start a rugby game, you know? 'We are here to display and practice who we are and what we are. We do that 24/7, and we don't do it because somebody says, 'No, when you walk in that Parliament you've got to stop being a Māori,' for goodness sake.' Waititi said there were 'many tools in the tikanga basket' when it came to opposing further legislation. 'It will be deemed, and probably sanctioned, by tipuna who guide us in our wairua, in our ngākau, and the people who guide us outside. They sent us in to be the unapologetic Māori voice. Māori voice means that everything that we have in our kete kōrero will be used.' He said Thursday's debate got 'pretty ugly and sad', referencing Winston Peters' 'scribble' jab at his mataora. 'I would be ashamed,' Waititi said. 'If I was his mokopuna, to look over those clips and to hear him denigrate not only something that was handed down by his ancestors, but also him as a future ancestor the legacy he will leave for his tamariki-mokopuna. I'm saddened by that, but also I feel ashamed that his family have to wear that legacy.' Peters agreed the debate was sad, though for different reasons – telling Morning Report Te Pāti Māori's behaviour was unprecedented and unforgivable. Disappointed by inevitable – former leader Te Ururoa Flavell, Te Pāti Māori co-leader from 2013 to 2018, said he was disappointed at the outcome, but it was inevitable. 'Māori and haka, that is part of who we are and what we do, as an expression of a message. No different to giving a speech in the House and pointing the finger at people. You sort of think, where's the consistency here?' he asked. 'Our people understand the protocols that go with various places. Our marae are run by tikanga and protocols about what you can and can't do. And we also know that there are consequences of actions, both for better or for worse. 'That's never an issue – the issue here is when you line it all up, you'd say that the three MPs were dealt with very, very harshly and unfairly.' Flavell said Parliament had come a long way from the days where MPs could not speak te reo in the House, but even that was hard fought for. He said Parliament allowed waiata and even Christmas carols, despite not being in the rules, but with an acceptance they were in the spirit of the occasion. 'Really, can we get to a point in time to accept that Māori are tangata whenua of this land? Can we not get to a time and have a conversation about actually accepting that kaupapa Māori is okay in this land and in the halls of Parliament, for goodness sake, and to allow it to happen on appropriate occasions?' Flavell said a debate about tikanga in the House was long overdue, but said any debate must run alongside education. 'I hope that we learn from the history and allow the debate to happen, but let's do it fairly, not in the sense of allowing every party to have their vehicle. That will move nothing, it will not move the dial, and we saw that yesterday, but allow actually, a debate to inform. 'Hopefully, the committee that's digging into the whole issue of the Treaty of Waitangi will raise some of those issues. But let's have the debate. Let's allow a discussion on kaupapa Māori within the halls of Parliament, and that, I believe, will go a long way to settle some of these grievances that will not only have come up in the past, but are likely to come up in the future.'
