Blenheim Public Meeting 14 October 2003
Admirals Motor Lodge, 161 Middle Renwick Road
7pm to 9pm
90 Attended
Commentary
· Can landlocked land be instituted?
- What can this land be used for?
· OSH regulations.
· Will there be provision for compensation when you start to take pieces of land?
- Access is a vital part of ownership, need it to run property.
- Anything without compensation will be a real fight.
· If you give access to someone with no financial interest in the asst, it will devalue the financial interest of someone who owns it.
· There is public access available but a lot of the public does not know where it is and the council is not `toeing the line' and indicating where it is.
· Where will you draw the line on marginal strips in terms of the size of the river etc?
· Is there a conflict between access and shooting?
- Are people going to be shooting within a certain distance of people accessing the land?
· Are people going to stick to a code of conduct, because this means nothing to trespassers?
- There is no trespass law with any teeth.
· Disappointed that the meeting does not have a better venue.
· There should be a range of exemptions - ports etc - and these need to be identified and clarified.
· Signage is important.
· Fish and Game have gone out of their way to enhance access and signage.
- Major concern in Marlborough for closure of Crown land by DOC for hunters.
- People close and use land for their own benefit.
- Need an easement to get access to public land with a firearm.
· Some accessways are conduits for the spread of noxious weeds, need to manage land.
· What is the importance of paper roads?
· Have you also taken into account the foreshore reserve legislation for the Sounds?
· There are few farmers who do not have a good idea where paper roads are.
- Lock them up and refuse access.
- Appalled to think that hunters will not be able to cross the land.
· Keep lawyers out of it!
· Anglers are not advocating a wander at will, they never have.
- Fish and Game are happy to have a legal enforceable code of conduct to abide by.
- Subdivision is not a good trigger, sporadic, and takes a long time.
- Compensation is a problem.
· The problems are anywhere in South Marlborough.
· Is there any point in having footpath access if it is not mapped?
· You are not considering rural women and children, they are isolated and do not know who is on their land.
· Do people have to give access where there is private land between the foreshore?
· Is there going to be compensation for walkways or open to public access?
· Would every bay need to give access to the water in the Sounds?
· Concerned about legislation, there are no guarantees that tonight will remain the story.
· There have been good points raised regarding compensation.
· Take into account RMA and OSH liabilities.
· Do not trust the Government.
· If we do not legislate, there may be less and less land available.
· Compensation is a danger, people could abuse it - need a balance of legislation and no legislation.
· Negotiation is a long and slow process, be prepared for the long haul - such as under the Walkways Act.
· Problem of OSH.
· How do you accommodate local knowledge regarding paper roads?
· Boxing Day fires in Marlborough - who is responsible when there are fires due to access?
· Clearly establish who owns the land and riverbeds, if you are going to change things.
· Is an esplanade reserve purely set aside for walking - what can it be used for?
· Why should the farmer pay for maintenance of marginal strips, such as for weeds?
· There is a polarity of camps.
- Rejecting the fact that there are more and more people now and cities are getting bigger.
- Complaints about roads, when they were put in as essential.
- Has seen landowners closing roads with metal and seen fishers rip them off.
- People are fearful in the town and country.
· Pay attention to public notices regarding the closure of roads.
· Free grazing on public roads.
· Need extra policemen to resolve disputes.
· Foreigners are selling riparian rights to farmers.
· Loophole allowing exclusive access, needs to be closed off.
· Do not want fishers on land when milking etc.
· Want to address where the access is being closed.
· Free access along waterways, so extend the Queen's Chain, needs to be sensible and practical.
· Look at hunting too.
· Could people camp along the river?
· When will cadastral maps be updated to show where roads no longer exist?
- Councils need to tell LINZ when they close roads and get LINZ to map it.
- Cadastral maps are not legally definitive.
· There is a problem between landowners and users - all of the people here have good intentions, it is the problem of dope growers and people who hunt without permission.
· A code of conduct would not be worth the paper it was written on, it is the people who are not here who do not care.
· Farmers are now facing increasing regulations and compliance issues.
- This feels good, but Helen will make the final decisions.
· Question relating to access to Maori cemeteries, desecration of the sites.
- Questions about urupas on strips and how they will be looked after.
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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