New Zealand's pristine national parks could be opened up to more private businesses as the Department of Conservation looks at ways to make recoup budget cuts.
DOC is looking at a range of options as it has to slash expenditure by $54m over the next four years.
Director-general Al Morrison said attracting more businesses to work on the conservation estate was a priority for the department this year, but did not mean national parks would be turned into theme parks.
"This is not about Disneyland or Club Med in national parks," he told the Dominion Post.
DOC needed to work pragmatically and be a more efficient business, while in the past it had been driven by "high principles", he said.
A new "commercial business unit" was being set up, to be headed by a person recruited from the private sector who would implement changes that Mr Morrison said would make some people "nervous".
There were currently 4500 concession holders who paid DOC to run businesses on conservation land, ranging from whale-watching tours to guided walks.
Among options being considered under a new business plan are allowing more private businesses to pay DOC for using its land, charging for the use of public toilets and DOC car parks, and permitting energy-creation schemes on DOC land.
Mr Morrison said DOC's changes would be consistent with its conservation values, and it made sense to work more with businesses.
"It's now fashionable to be seen as green. If we're not leveraging off that, we are dumb."
