Rural & Lifestyle Real Estate - Bob Gillard Licensed Agent REAA 2008

13/10/2026

Buying a home is a process, not a moment. Here are the key steps you should expect to go through when purchasing property in New Zealand. Learn more!

30/09/2026

Open Home Sunday 1pm to 2pm.

The Ultimate Country Lifestyle Awaits! 7 bedrooms Lifestyle Property for sale at 152 Deans Road | Darfield | Selwyn. Find more information under OneRoof.co.nz

24/09/2026

11/09/2026

Step into this executive 7-bedroom lifestyle sanctuary, where luxury meets rural tranquility on over 4 hectares of fully fenced Canterbury country. This substantial 507m2 property consists of two residences connected by internal access triple car garaging and is the perfect retreat for large familie...

08/09/2026

An excellent read.

The New Zealand Property Report - the latest data shows national stock has climbed 9.7%, while prices remain relatively unchanged for three years

18/08/2026

September and spring are looming fast. If you are considering selling your property then give me a call to discuss putting your property on the market and achieving a great outcome for you.

09/08/2026

Nearly 40 years ago, New Zealand’s first Minister of Conservation, Hon Russell Marshall, stood in Parliament during the second reading of the Conservation Bill and said something we desperately need to remember today:

“New Zealand’s protected areas are not up for barter. They are a treasure, a taonga that must be handed down unspoilt from one generation to another. They are irreplaceable and do not have a price.”

24 March 1987.

I keep wondering what Russell Marshall would say if he could see the debate we are having almost four decades later.

When did protecting something permanently become an inconvenience?

When did the safeguards around conservation land become dismissed as “red tape”?

When did “streamlining” become more important than ensuring that the places we deliberately set aside remain protected for those who come after us?

The Conservation Act was never intended to make conservation convenient.

It was intended to make conservation endure.

There will always be another development proposal. Another economic opportunity. Another argument that this particular piece of conservation land is different, or that exchanging it, disposing of it, or weakening the protections around it can somehow be justified.

That is precisely why those protections exist.

Because if conservation survives only until somebody identifies a sufficiently valuable alternative use for the land, it isn’t really conservation at all.

We didn’t inherit these places with an entitlement to spend them.

We inherited them with an obligation to pass them on.

Nearly forty years later, Russell Marshall’s words haven’t become outdated.

They may be more important than ever.

Conservation land is not up for barter.

29/07/2026

30/06/2026

The Ultimate Country Lifestyle Awaits! 7 bedrooms Lifestyle Property for sale at 152 Deans Road | Darfield | Selwyn. Find more information under OneRoof.co.nz

29/06/2026

The housing market is in a funk - but one group is doing better than others.