Wellington, Feb 7 NZPA - The Government is trying to stop the Department of Conservation (DOC) from protecting the South Island's Mackenzie Basin, Forest and Bird says.

The conservation organisation said today it had obtained documents under the Official Information Act which showed a new high country policy had overturned the department's previous work to halt greater privatisation of the Mackenzie Basin, much of which was publicly-owned.

Forest and Bird's advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell said Parliament gave the department a specific job to advocate for the protection of significant conservation and landscapes on publicly-owned high country land.

Many pastoral leaseholders wanted to privatise land so they could develop dairy farms and irrigate the naturally dry Mackenzie Basin land with giant pivot irrigators, he said.

"In 2006 DOC proposed creating a Mackenzie Basin drylands park to protect some of the area's significant natural landscape and native plants and animals," Mr Hackwell said.

"But last year the Government forced the department to back down on proposals for full Crown ownership of land with outstanding conservation and landscape values."

Mr Hackwell said that in September last year a DOC manager wrote: "The high country policy has been revised and funding for the Department of Conservation has come under scrutiny.

"The Department of Conservation has therefore had to review its direction in the high country with regards to any new lands it may acquire, lakeside issues and any ongoing management costs that may be associated with new lands."

Mr Hackwell said the Government should rethink its policy.

"If the Government doesn't act now, large areas of the Mackenzie Basin will be obliterated by giant green irrigation circles," he said.

"Much of the irrigation will be on land that the public presently owns. That will be bad for tourists and for the many special plants and animals living there."