Matt Lauer wants the New Zealand government to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars to allow hikers to cross his luxury ranch

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Matt Lauer, the former co-host of the show "Today," wants the New Zealand government to pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars when he is forced to leave More hikers and hunters use his ranch Lauer purchased a lease at the Hunter Valley Station of 16,000 acres and $ 9 million in February 2017 through a New Zealand company several months before to be fired by NBC in November for charges of sexual misconduct.

Co-presenter at "Today" for two decades, Lauer was fired after a colleague complained of inappropriate sexual behavior at the workplace. A subsequent internal review revealed that other women had filed complaints about her behavior

Hunter Valley Station, in the South Island, New Zealand, is the only route of communication leading at Hawea Conservation Park. An official who advocates better public access to the park called it "one of the jewels of the New Zealand landscape".

The official, Eric Pyle, executive director of the Government's Walking Access Commission, said passage through Hunter Valley Station at the park had been tense for decades. Lauer had granted the minimum public access required by his lease when he bought it, officials said.

Pyle said the commission felt that it was important to grant greater public access because the conservation park was "essentially landlocked" at Lauer Ranch. He said hunters, fishermen and hikers wanted to be allowed to take a 40-kilometer gravel road that runs through the property.

"Otherwise, the New Zealand Crown Commissioner

Graeme Todd, Lauer's attorney in New Zealand, said in an email that Lauer's company would appeal any decision of public access by the New Zealand courts. If that failed, the law allowed the holder of the lease to receive compensation.

Todd added that if the compensation was paid, his client would ask for "hundreds of thousands" of dollars, "if not more".

He said that Lauer had allowed 100 people to access his property and had only denied three, although others used the land without asking for it. Radio New Zealand groups that were trying to access were enjoying the "hard times" that it had gone through by losing its job, and were aiming for it because it was an "easy mark".

Pyle of the Walking Access Commission said public access to Lauer Ranch "would not be free". He noted that similar access had been allowed through other nearby properties, including two rented by record producer Mutt Lange, who was previously married to Shania Twain. 2] "One of the things we would be very happy with is that Mutt Lange and Matt Lauer could meet, and Matt could learn from that, learns the value that could be gained from being a great member of the community," he said. said Pyle, adding that Lauer would be "very much appreciated in New Zealand" if it allowed more access.

Lauer's lease on the property was The New Zealand government conducted a six-month investigation to determine whether it satisfied the "good character" test that foreigners must pass to lease land in New England. Zealand.

strongly encourages Matt to pick up the phone and say, "How can we fix it?"

The investigation concluded that since Lauer had not been charged with a crime, he lived mainly in the United States and was not involved in the daily operations of the Zeeland ranch, he would be allowed to keep the property. But survey officials said they "did not tolerate Mr. Lauer's inappropriate behavior while he was working at NBC and that he" would continue to monitor the situation. " .

Winston Peters, Interim Prime Minister of New Zealand He said Tuesday that Lauer would not receive public money if he was obliged to provide better public access to the land.

Peters said that the Overseas Investment Office, which approved the granting of the lease to Lauer, dropped the ball. failed to fully negotiate public access before agreeing to the agreement.

Official documents provided to Stuff.co.nz as part of an access request to the information revealed that officials had discussed a "participatory" compensation for Lauer. One official suggested that the possibility of compensating Lauer was complicated by the fact that he was "a very wealthy American with a tarnished reputation," referring to his dismissal.

But Pyle of the Walking Access Commission said that he had not yet spoken to Lauer personally, and hoped that a solution could still be found.

"We would be very happy to have the conversation with Matt," he said. "I strongly encourage Matt to pick up the phone and say," How can we fix it? ""