As the first frosts of late autumn begin to bite, New Zealand’s great outdoors is looking superb. On a sunny day in the back country, the low sun filters through the yellowing trees under a dome of bright blue sky. White crystals sparkle from branches, a swamp harrier circles, a thin skin of ice covers a tarn. The cold is not strong enough yet to form a solid layer of ice. It’s just a veneer, a superficial covering. This is when it is most dangerous, something not to be trusted. The metaphor can be extended to the government’s revamp of the conservation system. On the surface, it has the odd thing to commend it, but below there are other influences afoot. It’s hard to get away from the feeling these changes are designed more to boost the government’s coffers than to do more for conservation itself, improve conservation land and support those whose work is vital to protect our unique flora, fauna and landscapes. A breakdown of our conservation land reveals quite the jigsaw puzzle.…