Who owns the high country?

the long version

The process of tenure review allows owners of the South Island high-country stations to freehold parts of their pastoral lease farms in exchange for offering other land to the Crown to be 'retired' as conservation land. On paper this appears to be a win-win scenario. The reality, however, has been very different. Ann Brower's research exposed the fact that in most cases of tenure review, the Crown was actually paying the runholder to conclude these agreements, at the same time leaving them free to develop their newly freeholded land for massive profits. Who Owns the High Country? explains Ann Brower's contentious research and the subsequent U-turn from the Government that temporarily stalled the review process. This is an extremely important book, of interest to anyone who cares about the high country of the South Island.