Takapuna Public Meeting 08 October 2003
Bruce Mason Centre, Cnr Hurstmere Road and The Promenade
7pm to 9pm
26 Attended
Commentary
· A code of conduct should include the idea of interaction with a farmer, build on relationships.
· People who have purchased coastal land at considerable cost to maintain their privacy are very concerned that increasing rights of access will affect that right.
- Not concerned about people who ask for access.
- The culture of respect is being lost.
- Fearful of that loss, which includes issues of security, litter and privacy.
- Is there a possible compromise?
- Can those rights be balanced?
· Need to retain the rights of property owners, people have changed over the generations in the way that they behave on the land.
- One solution does not fit all.
- Want to see people enjoying the land, while respecting it, but people also need privacy.
- Markers get lost in the grass.
- There is litter and sheer public pressure in this area, which will get worse.
- Bringing dogs onto rural land.
- Locking people out is not the answer, but there is a lack of resources.
- New Zealanders want access, it is their heritage, but it is about defined and supervised rights of access.
- An agency needs teeth.
· Rights have responsibilities.
- Concerned about a flood of people if there is access and a right to roam.
- The right to roam would apply to all land, not just farmland.
- People do not expect rights and land.
· Ability to go with and the ability to go without permission.
· Education is probably the most important thing.
- There are assumptions about the right of access, picking shellfish etc.
- Various attitudes: right to harvest, right to roam etc.
- Signs are a waste of time, there are too many of them, or people do not read them.
- Do we need a licence to access?
· Vehicles and access, problems arising from the use of 4WD.
· North Shore City Council: Doubt if proposals will work in developed areas.
- People are reluctant to give up esplanade reserve requirements on subdivisions.
· New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement: regarding access.
- What is its impact?
- How do you make it work?
· People who visit also provide a service for farmers and society, protecting stock, locating cannabis.
- With people around it can be a deterrent to theft.
- How do you educate new people into this way of thinking?
· Cannot educate idiots, but most people will look after the land.
· Lack of `common land'.
- Bad subdivision from early times, needs a national basis to resolve the problem.
· Auckland Freshwater Anglers: Not in favour of the UK situation, where people can control access to the coastline.
- The wildlife belongs to the public.
· People do not litter in the outdoors, because the expectation is made clear that it should not occur.
- The minority spoils it.
· A public access authority needs to develop a co-ordinated approach.
· Te Araroa Trust could perhaps help.
· Developers are allowed to erode esplanade reserves, to help them subdivide.
· Should a council's role in paper roads be transferred to another authority?
- Because councils are trying to close roads and people constantly have to watch out for these actions.
· It is difficult to find information on legal roads etc.
Contact for Enquiries
Rural Affairs Coordinator
Sector Performance Policy
MAF Policy
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
PO Box 2526
Wellington
NEW ZEALAND
Phone: +64 4 894 0675
Fax: +64 4 4 894 0745
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