Conduct of Public on Private Land and Potential Public Abuse of Access Rights
Submitters discuss the issue of public conduct on private land and the associated reasons for the landowner accepting or restricting access. Access restrictions experienced by the public include:
- obstruction through signage and physical obstructions by gates, electric fences, deep fords, dense vegetation, or cattle;
- the closure of roads by forestry companies;
- recent subdivision of land;
- land deviating from surveyed position long enough for the lessee to control passage;
- the absence of the Queen's Chain alongside rivers and streams;
- an unknown or unavailable property owner or access arrangements;
- the purchase of exclusive access rights by an individual or group; and
- an access charge.
Landowners may restrict public access for the following reasons:
- concern about stock disruption due to the visiting public;
- concern relating to the safe management of bird habitat on private land;
- the release onto private land of unwanted pets;
- lambing and weaning;
- health and safety reasons, including:
- biosecurity;
- the transfer of diseases;
- contamination of waterways, eg. reservoir access; and
- rural industrial uses, including power generation facilities, sand, gravel and rock extraction and factories (e.g. dairy processing);
- the hazards of a farming working environment;
- litter;
- using land for illegal purposes, such as stock and property theft and growing drugs;
- personal safety, as a measure preventing home invasion and harassment;
- loss of respect for private property, including intimidation of the landowner;
- fire risks;
- excess amounts of vehicles and the use of unlicensed vehicles so that landowners are unable to report any offenders to local authorities;
- land conservation;
- the impact of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) on rural landowners (that any person has the right to accuse a landowner of doing something contravening the Act); and
- the expense and maintenance of service provision (e.g. toilets and rubbish) by the landowner.
The risks identified above are believed to provide incentive for property owners to deny the public access. To minimise these risks of public access to private land, the landowner may grant access with the types of conditions listed below:
- access over private land only by arrangement or negotiation;
- the issuing of information pertaining to landowner responsibility for visitors and their property while on private land;
- no allowance for dogs, fires, camping, guns or litter;
- that access is managed (e.g. visitor lists and entry passes) to ensure the protection of human safety, animal welfare and biosecurity aspects of farming;
- the closure of access during lambing seasons, for cultural purposes and for reasons associated with farm management and high fire risk; and
- the punishment of vandals and prohibition of access to visitors who abuse any conditions of access.
The reasons given by landowners for the granting of access with restrictions indicate that farms need to be protected at certain times and uncontrolled access can be disruptive and cause damage. Access differs according to individual landowners and "what works in one circumstance is not necessarily the best and most workable outcome in all circumstances". Often alternative access is offered by landowners where other access is restricted. Ultimately, the majority of submitters feel that there must be communication between parties and the ability to ultimately control what occurs on private property.
Contact for Enquiries
Mark Neeson
Manager, Land and Water Policy
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Phone: +64 894 0703
Fax: +64 4 894 0745
