The economic impacts of Lands and Survey land development operations in Westland : dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment for a Diploma of Natural Resources, Lincoln College

Abstract

The West Coast of the South Island has long been considered a depressed area of New Zealand. Development been characterised by cycles of "boom-bust” economic activity related to the exploitation of the region’s natural resources. The area has a small and sparse population and is remote from both national and international markets. These characteristics, along with a long period of population decline, have impeded sustained economic growth. The combination of physiographic and demographic factors have contributed to a low level of private sector activity and consequently a relatively high involvement of Government departments. This is exemplified by the fact that in a region dominated by land-based activities the Crown owns approximately 85 percent of the land in the Westland district. Among the many departments with major involvements on the Coast is the Lands and Survey Department. This department has a wide responsibility public land management on the West Coast, ranging from nature protection in national parks through reserve and Crown land management to development of land for agriculture.

The aim of this study is to assess the regional economic impact of the Lands Survey Department's land development operations within the Westland Land District. An input-output analysis method has used to calculate the regional multipliers. These reflect the secondary effects of an investment programme in a region. Chapter 2 describes the study area, Westland Land District, briefly covering the economic profile of the region land development for agriculture. Chapter 3 discusses input-output analysis, outlines the effects of investment in a region and defines the types of multipliers. Chapter 4 explains the methodology used, implicit assumptions and the limitations of the results. In Chapter 5 an account is made of the application of this to Westland and the Lands and Survey land development operation and the results are presented. These results are interpreted in Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 as a brief summary.