Labour has announced its South Island High Country policy, including a pledge to stop the tenure review process if it becomes the Government after the November election.
Tenure review is a voluntary process that allows high country run-holders with pastoral leases to negotiate freeholding some of the land in return for giving up other areas for conservation.
But Labour's Land Information spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says there have been some issues with the tenure review process.
He says some high country farmers have seen it as a land-grab while organisations such as the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand and some academics believe it has not done a particularly good job in protecting environmental values.
Mr Lee-Galloway says his party believes the process has run its course and it is now time for a new approach.
He says a Labour government would work alongside pastoral leasees to ensure the environmental aspects of the land are secure while maintaining it in Crown ownership so that, should the decision be made to add it to the Department of Conservation estate, it could be directly purchased.
However, High Country Accord chairman Jonathan Wallis is critical of the proposal, saying he is disappointed that high country land is once again being used a political football.
He says policies like this widen the rural/urban New Zealand gap.
"It is unfortunate when policy appeals to a certain sector of voters versus trying to find something that is genuinely sustainable."
According to Land Information New Zealand, 79 of the 300 high country pastoral leaseholders have gone through tenure review to date.
A third of the leaseholders are not involved in reviews.
Federated Farmers comment
Federated Farmers says the policy would force farmers off their land and taxpayers would have to pick up the tab of maintaining the environment.
Dr William Rolleston says a large amount of land has been protected under the tenure review process.
He says Labour's policy discounts the work farmers have done to rid the high country of weeds and pests.
Dr Rolleston says it is irresponsible to increase the taxpayer burden by expanding the DoC estate in economically difficult times.
