Conclusions from Submissions
Public access to the foreshore of the lakes and the sea and along rivers should be maintained. The Queen's Chain is described as an important institution and is entrenched in New Zealand's heritage and cultural traditions. As such, it should be safeguarded and legislated for along waterways of public interest or extended to rivers and streams above a certain size and become moveable with the bed of the river. The lack of public clarity about what constitutes the Queen's Chain is enhancing the nature of access problems encountered by the public.
Reasonable public access should include, at a minimum, foot access along the banks of rivers, lakes and the coast as well as roads. Such access will realise the recreational potential of waters and the land for the general public. New Zealanders value a free, outdoors lifestyle, gaining enjoyment of the environment and benefit from the rural experience without undue loss or disruption to people who live on the land and with consideration of different cultural values. For the terms of reference this access is pedestrian access, although it is necessary to consider vehicular access, as the range of outdoor activities is increasing and outdoor terrain vehicles are more frequently being used.
Responsible public access through private land in New Zealand means balancing public and private rights, and an accepted community expectation that people who ask for access are likely to be given it. Submitters assert that it should be the landowner's right to grant permission to private land where there is no practical alternative to gain access to public land. Most submitters are against proposals to create a right to roam on the grounds that a right to roam would prove not only prove difficult to manage, but ultimately destructive of the relationship between the public and rural landowners and the need that the New Zealand economy has for a productive, motivated rural sector.
There are a range of potential new access arrangements and site-specific solutions ventured by submitters. The proviso for any proposals to clarify access and to address the issue of land access is that there is no further privatisation of public reserves and roads and the retention of public access to public lands, including accessways as part of high country tenure reviews. There should be no payment for entry to or through Crown or privately owned land, unless a service is provided. A centralised agency would be effective to deal solely with access issues and act as an impartial institution for the negotiation of satisfactory access arrangements. A related code of behaviour for access would nurture a stable landowner - recreationalist relationship. Legislation should clearly define the public's right of access and prevent the sale of access rights for commercial purposes.
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
