General Views on Access for Maori
Additional views provided by submitters about Maori land and public access include:
- Maori landowners "often have limited ability to obtain a return from their land", and thus may rely on returns currently received for providing exclusive use to tourist operators and fishing guides;
- Maori should be consulted about the land access issue before any other interest group;
- Public access is subject to potential restrictions such as an area being set aside to protect wahi tapu or indigenous ecosystems on land;
- there should be more information available about public access, especially clear definitions of access;
- Maori land is exempt from public access requirements, but non-Maori landowners have similar concerns for and respect of land;
- there should be public access to Crown land without excess DOC or Maori control as this land is New Zealand's heritage;
- multiple ownership of Maori land is further restricting legal public access;
- not all subdivisions have resulted in the creation of reserves on water margins. Some residential subdivisions of Maori land on Lake Rotoiti and Lake Rotorua have resulted in settlements where residential allotments have riparian rights and there is limited provision for public access to or along the lake margins;
- "The doctrine of accretion has only been applicable to lakes since a Privy Council ruling in 1982 based on a case in Australia. The doctrine is based on common law, and is an archaic presumption of individual property rights over and above the rights of the public"; and
- the Maori Land Court needs the same subdivision rules and esplanade reserve provisions as provided in the RMA.
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
