Conservation land use applications processed faster with help from AI
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The government is celebrating faster processing of applications for the use of conservation land, including by using AI.
In a statement, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said the application backlog had dropped from 1300 last September, to 550 now - with processing times improved by 180 percent.
He said AI had been used to help scan documents, and one-off drone permits now took just five working days, compared to the previous "weeks".
"We're achieving these results through a data-driven approach and smarter, more efficient systems and processes, including new technology such as AI tools helping to scan statutory documents," he said.
"Processing applications quicker means businesses get certainty faster. DOC is enabling a wide range of activities that connect people with nature and support local economies, while more quickly declining proposals where the effects on nature or heritage cannot be avoided, remedied, or mitigated.
"Around a third of the applications DOC has processed since February are related to tourism, the country's second-largest export earner, where more than 380 tourism related applications in the last three months were processed, including guiding activities in Fiordland and Heli hunt and fish concessions for helicopter landings in the North Island."
Most applications for use of conservation land are for tourism operations, but the Department of Conservation this month also approved Kokiri Lime's application to quarry 1ha of rock needed for critical roading and flood protection infrastructure projects in South Westland.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Number of New Zealanders leaving for Australia reaches highest level in more than a decade
In 2024 New Zealand had the largest annual net loss to Australia since 2012. Photo: 123rf The number of New Zealanders who left for Australia last year was the highest in more than a decade, according to Stats NZ. Just under 30,0000 New Zealanders left for Australia in 2024, which Stats NZ said was "marginally higher" than in 2023. It was the highest level of emigration to Australia since it peaked in 2012 at nearly 44,000. Traditionally, there had been a net migration loss from New Zealand to Australia. This averaged about 30,000 a year during 2004 to 2013, and 3,000 a year during 2014 to 2019. Stats NZ data had also shown the number of migrants in New Zealand fell to a two and a half year low in May. It said there was a net gain of 14,800 in the year ended in May compared to more than 84,000 the year before. The slowdown was driven by fewer non-New Zealand citizens settling and record levels of people leaving the country, it said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
Australian mining company Santana Minerals buys Otago land for $25 million
Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring. Photo: Supplied An Australian mining company believes it has struck gold on a Central Otago livestock station, buying it for $25 million and promising to employ hundreds of people. Santana Minerals - through its subsidiary Matakanui Gold - has a binding agreement to purchase the 2888 hectare Ardgour beef and sheep station near Tarras to work four historic gold deposit sites. Five years ago. the station delved into horticulture, planting thousands of cherry and apricot trees, but they are on a separate title and won't be affected by the mining. Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring said the company is going through the government's Fast Track legislation to get a final sign off and anticipates starting to mine early next year. He said while the legislation aims to accelerate decision-making, it does not override the requirements of the Resource Management Act or other applicable laws. "The collective work undertaken to support the application represents one of the most intensive and comprehensive studies ever conducted on the Dunstan Mountains," Spring said. At the centre of the project is the Rise and Shine (RAS) deposit that Spring claims is the most significant single gold discovery in New Zealand in the past 40 years. Spring said once the station changes hands, the mining will include an open pit mine about 900 metres wide in a circle shape along with underground mining to access deeper extensions of the deposit. He said three smaller pits are also planned. "It has been a great deal of effort to get to this point," Spring said. He estimates the project will employ up to 400 people working 12 hour shifts over the next 14 years. Spring said not all the land is being used for gold mining, and stock will continue to be farmed on parts of the station. "Certainly on the dry land and irrigation pivots - that will continue to be farmed. As part of our due diligence, we will be looking at what farming can continue up in the hill country particularly near our operations," he said. However, Spring adds that sheep tend to shy away from their other mining activities and is mindful it needs to work for both the company and livestock. Spring said when gold mining on Ardgour Station winds down, the land will be reinstated to its original state by planting grasses and native trees along with converting the pit into a lake. Santana Minerals is an Australian company listed on both the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. Federated Farmers was approached for a response to the station's diversification but said it doesn't comment about who farmers sell their land to. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Techday NZ
2 hours ago
- Techday NZ
Organisations urged to boost data resilience as AI adoption rises
Industry experts have emphasised the importance of data resilience as organisations accelerate their use of artificial intelligence (AI) across increasingly complex digital environments. The growing implementation of AI technologies has introduced new challenges in data architecture, prompting concerns about whether data security measures are keeping pace with rapid innovation. Adapting data protection for AI Ben Young, Field CTO APJ at Veeam, highlighted the transformative effect of AI on business data systems, stating that these changes demand urgent attention to backup processes and security protocols. On AI Appreciation Day, it is worth pausing to consider not just what AI can do but also the challenges it creates. AI is fundamentally reshaping enterprise data architecture, introducing new and often distributed compute environments, training datasets, and workflows that did not exist even two years ago. But in the rush to innovate, many businesses are forgetting to ask two critical questions: Young elaborated further, asking, "Is any of this backed up? Are the backups protected and secure?" Young referred to the findings of Veeam's 2025 Ransomware Trends and Proactive Strategies Report, which revealed that nine out of ten organisations globally had their backup repositories targeted by threat actors in the past year. He stated this points to a clear need for backups that are both secure and immutable. "This means data not only needs to be backed up; those backups need to be secure and immutable to ensure full protection," he said. Young also observed that many organisations are moving AI training workloads to the public cloud without proportionate data protection strategies. He cautioned that a reliance on as-a-service infrastructure could create a false sense of security against increasingly sophisticated threats. "At Veeam, we see organisations deploying AI training workloads in the public cloud, sometimes for the first time, without mature data protection strategies in place." "There is an assumption that as-a-service infrastructure is inherently secure, but in reality, protecting AI requires consideration of an increasingly complex data environment. That means safeguarding model outputs, ensuring rapid restore capabilities, and maintaining visibility into where data is stored, especially as markets in APJ develop strict data sovereignty regulations," Young added. "AI may be intelligent, but resilience still requires human foresight. Innovation without protection is a risk no enterprise can afford to take." AI as a resilience enabler David Allott, Field CISO APJ at Veeam, presented a complementary perspective, suggesting that recent debates tend to focus heavily on AI's threats while overlooking how AI can advance data resilience and cyber protection. On AI Appreciation Day, most conversations focus on the risks AI introduces. But in cybersecurity, we are overlooking a bigger opportunity: AI is also helping us rethink how we defend and recover. Allott described how AI is changing the way organisations manage data security, helping businesses move from reactive defence to more proactive approaches. He said, "AI is enabling security leaders across APJ move from reactive defence to proactive resilience. At Veeam, we are integrating AI to help businesses better understand and protect their data. It is not just about knowing where it is stored, but understanding what it contains, who has access, and whether it is subject to compliance issues or exfiltration risk." He addressed the visibility challenges faced by companies operating hybrid-cloud and mixed infrastructure systems, and outlined AI's role in resolving these complexities. "As companies adopt hybrid-cloud models and operate across legacy and modern infrastructure, this visibility becomes harder to achieve. AI cuts through the complexity by identifying anomalies faster, identifying misconfigurations before they become vulnerabilities, and aligning backup strategies with actual data value." Allott cautioned that while AI is not a solution to all security issues, it provides significant context and operational insight. "While AI is not a silver bullet for security, it is a tool that delivers clarity and context on how to be more resilient. For example, Veeam enables AI directly into platforms to assist with threat diagnostics and intelligent support for backup admins. Tools like VeeamONE deliver AI-powered threat detection, while Recon Scanner (a feature of Veeam Data Platform) helps identify risks before they escalate. This ensures organisations can protect the right data in the right way before threats emerge." Industry observers point out that as enterprises in the Asia-Pacific and Japan region continue to integrate AI technologies, the focus on robust backup, security, and compliance strategies will only grow in significance.
