Latest news with #DepartmentOfConservation
RNZ News
6 days ago
- General
- RNZ News
Department of Conservation cutting 71 roles to modernise the government agency
File photo. Photo: RNZ/ Nick Monro The Department of Conservation is cutting 71 roles in an effort it says to modernise the government agency. The announcement was a result of a change process released in May which originally pitched axing 84 jobs. The agency would disestablish 143 administrative and assistant roles and create 72 new ones which would result in a net loss of 71 jobs. Of the new jobs 25 would be part time. DOC's deputy director-general of organisation support, Mike Tully said the decisions weren't made lightly but are needed to modernise and operate sustainably. "This review is about making DOC work better. DOC needs to change the way we work to make everyday tasks easier, balancing our needs with the various challenges we face." Tully said the changes were part of an organisation-wide shift towards self-service, taking advantage of new technology and improved systems and processes being introduced at DOC this year. "The new systems will be more efficient and easier to use, which means more time spent on conservation and less on admin." PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said that the removal of staff that monitored radios posed health and safety risks. "The current support staff have sizeable health and safety responsibilities, such as monitoring staff radio systems and helping to manage emergencies like fires. "The loss of these team members will mean that these important duties will fall on others - and pose a significant health and safety risk." Fitzsimons said that making 25 roles part time would be a blow workers who cannot make ends meet on a part time salary, and who in small towns would struggle to find other work. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
7 days ago
- RNZ News
International visitor numbers back to 93% of pre-Covid figures
Bookings at Department of Conservation huts, campsites and Great Walks brought in more than $13 million last summer. Aoraki Mount Cook is one of the most popular national parks. Photo: Getty Images The department's latest visitor insights showed almost 670,000 bednights were booked between December and February - a 12 percent increase on the previous year - with revenue up by more than 18 percent. Department of Conservation heritage and visitors director Catherine Wilson said landscapes and scenery remained top attractions for international visitors and short walks were still the most popular outdoor activity across the board. "Over summer, international visitor numbers were back to 93 percent of pre-Covid figures with more than 50 percent heading to a national park during their visit," she said. "Huts and campsite fees ensure people make a fair contribution when they stay in these places and help keep facilities available into the future." Fiordland and Aoraki Mount Cook were the two most popular national parks. "Almost 75 percent of international visitors enjoy walks or tramps during their time in New Zealand and 99 percent rated New Zealand's natural scenery as good or very good," Wilson said. Coastal areas and marine reserves were also popular with New Zealanders, but not without problems, she said. "Sadly, there was also persistent illegal fishing or collecting shellfish in marine reserves with 101 confirmed offences and 79 infringements between October 2024 to March 2025." The reserves Te Whanganui-o-Hei on the Coromandel Peninsula, Horoirangi in Tasman Bay, and Long Bay-Okura in Auckland saw the highest number of offences. "This behaviour is truly disappointing, and we've seen wider issues across the country this summer. This includes dogs attacking wildlife, people driving through endangered river-bird colonies and irresponsible camping harming vulnerable natural areas like alpine wetlands," Wilson said. The department's data showed almost 60,000 people hiked a Great Walk between December and February, 60 percent of whom were New Zealanders. Outside of the Great Walks, more than 450,000 bednights were booked at campsites and 70,000 in huts over this period.
RNZ News
21-07-2025
- RNZ News
Unexplained discovery of dead stoat on Stewart Island sparks investigation
File photo. Photo: 123RF The Department of Conservation is investigating the unexplained discovery of a dead stoat on Stewart Island. Rakiura is known to be stoat-free with the nearest population 30 kilometres away across the Foveaux Strait. The dead stoat was found on the Rakiura Great Walk Track earlier this month with its skull crushed either from a trap or similar blunt force. The department's Southern South Island Director of Operations, Aaron Fleming, said a stoat's swimming range was two kilometres and they were not known to stowaway on boats. "This stoat has died from a head injury then mysteriously turned up on a busy walking track," Fleming said. "We need to know if we are dealing with a new significant threat to Rakiura's native species, or if this stoat has been transported from elsewhere and planted deliberately. "Both scenarios are disturbing. We are taking this seriously." Genetic testing was underway to try to work out where the stoat had come from. The department is asking anyone with information to come forward. Fleming said stoats would have devastating impacts on the native wildlife if they established a population on Rakiura, threatening the efforts to create a predator-free space for kākāpō to be returned. "In other places in New Zealand where there are stoats, kiwi chick survival can be as low as zero without sustained pest control," he said. "Imagine the damage stoats could do on Rakiura, which is known for its tokoeka or southern brown kiwi population." A predator free project is working to eradicate all of the island's existing pest species, which include rats, possums, feral cats and hedgehogs. Introducing pests including stoats is illegal and penalties include up to five years imprisonment and significant fines. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
17-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Girl who died in Fiordland drowning missed 'every moment, every day'
Tegan Chen, 10, drowned in Marian Creek in Fiordland National Park in 2024. Photo: Supplied The mother of a 10-year-old Australian girl who drowned during a visit to New Zealand says the a coroner's report into her daughter's death has spurred feelings of overwhelming sadness as well as some comfort. Tegan Chen, of Lindfield, New South Wales, drowned in the fast-flowing Marian Creek in Fiordland National Park in January last year after she fell in and was swept downstream. In findings released 9 July, Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale described Tegan as "a very active and happy girl". Tegan's mother, Deb Fung, said she missed her daughter "every moment, every day". Fung said pictures in the coroner's report showed how easy it was to walk out onto the rocks from the track. The Department of Conservation installed warning signs immediately after the incident, with permanent signs installed later. A viewing platform that had been planned prior to Tegan's death had also been completed in June, covering the rocks that were previously accessible. Barriers had been constructed on all sides of the platform. A viewing platform that had been planned prior to Tegan Chen's death was completed in June, covering the rocks that were previously accessible. The top photo shows the new platform, with the bottom images showing what the site looked like earlier. Photo: Supplied / Department of Conservation "I'm glad that they've done that and, gosh, if that had been in place before ... which, when you think about it," Fung said, tapering off as she considered other outcomes of their visit to the national park. She said the family had been processing their grief and were grateful for the support of their family and friends. "Holding the memories of her very closely ... building memories with her in spirit differently," Fung said. "I guess facing the pain rather than trying to escape and trying to forget has been ... our approach ... and that's really helped." Fung said her daughter's passing had changed the family's perspective on life. "Just learning to try and embrace whatever days we have ahead of us and projects or things that have meaning and purpose rather than just going about life like nothing has changed or nothing really matters," she said. Tegan Chen (middle) with her parents and two older brothers. Photo: Supplied Tegan's father, Adrian Chen, said the family were constantly reminded of what they had lost, but they were also looking at opportunities to make a difference to other people with what they had experienced. "There is a lot of grief and a lot of traumas out there, not just for us, ... that a lot of people are going through," he said. "If we can be an encouragement to others ... and I guess almost helping people to see difficult circumstances is not just something to mourn and grief, but something that can also reshape us. "Like there's strength and resolve even amidst the tears and grief." Adrian Chen said it could be difficult for men to open up if they encountered difficult situations, but it was important for them to "take time out and to reflect and to face those emotions". "I think without the chance to do that, then ... I think what often happens is that we will bottle it up and then we'll have an eruption, like a volcano exploding," he said. Adrian Chen and Deb Fung Photo: Supplied The couple were planning to build a memorial garden outside of Sydney in which people could plant trees to mark the birth and passing of loved ones, which, at the same time, would be a reforestation project that helped the environment, Fung said. Aaron Fleming, director of operations in Southern South Island at the Department of Conservation, said the department looked closely at its facilities, systems and processes following a tragedy like this to identify room for improvement and ensure steps were taken to reduce the likelihood of similar things happening. "On behalf of the Department of Conservation I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to Tegan's family and acknowledge the terrible loss they have suffered," Fleming said. "We have an ongoing programme of reviewing of similar sites across public conservation lands to identify any that need further hazard warnings in place."
RNZ News
15-07-2025
- General
- RNZ News
World risks losing more of its wetlands, DOC scientist Hugh Robertson tells UN
Department of Conservation freshwater scientist Dr Hugh Robertson is the lead author of the Global Wetland Outlook 2025 report. Photo: Supplied / DoC An international report, led by a Department of Conservation scientist, warns the world is on track to lose even more of its wetlands - but solutions exist that could help wetlands thrive. Dr Hugh Robertson, a DOC freshwater scientist, was lead author of the Global Wetland Outlook 2025 , and chair of the Scientific and Technical Review Panel of the International Convention on Wetlands. He presented the report to the United Nations in Nairobi yesterday. "New Zealand has lost 90 percent of our wetlands," Robertson said. "This pattern is reflected internationally - over 400 million hectares of wetlands have vanished since 1970. "And if the loss continues at its current rate, a further fifth of the world's remaining wetlands could be gone by 2050 unless we take action." Wetlands provided food, regulated the global water cycle, removed water pollution, served as a buffer from the effects of sea level rise and storm surges, and stored carbon. In New Zealand, wetlands were home to an abundance of taonga species - kahikatea, native ducks, rare orchids and mudfish, to name a few wetland plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. "Losing a further fifth of wetlands globally will have enormous impact on people, nature and economies, amounting to losses of up to USD$39 trillion ($NZ65 trillion)," Robertson said. However, he said the panel behind the report was at pains to lay out a pathway for conserving wetlands. "The report suggests a combination of private and public financing could address the funding gaps , such as biodiversity credits," Robertson said. "Recognising the essential role of wetlands to store, filter and regulate water flows, and treating wetlands as essential infrastructure will also hope to reverse wetlands loss. "Restoration per hectare costs anything between USD$1000 and $70,000 (about NZ$1600 to $115,000), so conserving wetlands is cheaper than restoring them." Global Wetland Outlook 2025 has been published in the lead-up to the Ramsar Wetlands Convention Conference of Parties (COP 15), taking place in Zimbabwe from 23 July. Ramsar was a global treaty dedicated to promoting international cooperation and actions to protect wetlands. At COP 15, countries would make decisions to address wetland loss and degradation and improve management of wetlands of international importance. New Zealand's latest report on its internationally important wetlands (Ramsar sites), published earlier this year, would be tabled at COP15. The report covered the recent, devastating fires at Awarua-Waituna and Whangamarino wetlands , as well as positive changes through the government's Jobs for Nature programme, DOC's Ngā Awa river restoration programme and partnering with tangata whenua to monitor wetland condition. New Zealand had seven wetland sites listed as internationally significant under the Ramsar Wetland Convention and submitted international reporting updates on their condition every seven years. They included Farewell Spit (Golden Bay), Firth of Thames (Hauraki Gulf), Koputai Peat Dome (Hauraki Plains), Manawatū Estuary (Foxton, Horowhenua), Awarua-Waituna Lagoon (Southland), Wairarapa Moana (Wairarapa) and Whangamarino Wetland (Northern Waikato). Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
