Whereas the advantages of freehold are accepted for the rest of New Zealand, the same cannot be said of the High Country. Its multiple uses and sensitive nature are thought to require government's directing hand, with government control thought preferable to private control. However, political and bureaucratic processes do a very poor job of managing natural resources, and the High Country would be better managed for all uses if it were entirely in freehold and out of the reach of politicians and bureaucrats. With a bitter conflict now emerging over the use of the High Country, and with a new Land Act in the offing, perhaps the time is ripe to restate the argument that resources are best managed under a system of private property and free enterprise, and that rights to the High Country should not be subject to legislation and hence government control at all.

High Country Farmers' Annual Conference, Timaru, 12-13 June 1989.