Nelson Stakeholder Meeting 15 October 2003
El Taverna, 183 Queen Street, Richmond
2pm to 4pm
22 Attended
Commentary
· What is the required size for rivers?
· Why has traditional access changed?
· Is this access with a charge or free access?
· What about bicycle access, is this the same or different?
· Who pays for the provision of access (i.e. tenure review)?
· How is the Queen's Chain different from esplanade strips?
· Is there a standard width for a waterway?
· How can the statutory right of way be enacted on the Oreti River?
· What about compensation?
· With a good GPS system, someone could legally go through the Oreti River.
· Problem of access while stocking, people used to know how to behave, but it is being abused.
· Supervised orienteering course on land - supervision is the key.
· Should there be a fence on both sides of an access strip?
· How good have councils been in exercising their opportunity to help with access?
· Did you find that historically councils have been exercising their opportunities?
· The Tasman District Council has had an analysis done in relation to esplanade strips from 1991 onwards - the law is so complex, people can get picked up on little matters of law.
· Appreciate this process, looking at the big picture.
· One of the highest priority areas identified has been the Motueka River, where there is very little legal access.
- This is a high priority for increasing legal access.
- The river has changed course.
- Wanted a carpark on Tasman District Council land so that people could park and walk, this has just gone in now.
- The councils are looking at the creation of the use of reserves at the coast.
· Local authority processes do not lend to the general provision of access.
· Is a strip as good for providing access as a reserve is?
Possible to have public ownership of land.·
· What are the rights of current landowners in terms of trespass?
· Applaud the report and its conclusion of a public right to fisheries, wildlife etc.
· The New Zealand Conservation Authority: Managing role and statutory advisory role in relation to conservation issues.
- Only minor statement relating to the Walkways Commission.
- This is a good report.
- Well presented and researched, for practical and secure access.
- Supports the five objectives.
- Prefer legislation to implement access.
· The more that the council charges for rubbish, the more they get on forest roads and boundaries.
· Need recognition of the cost that people bear with access, such as for weeds, river works.
- It is about sharing the cost, not necessarily denying access.
- Greater access means greater use of riverbeds for toilets.
· Richmond pays rates on river management, would not mind if that provided river access.
· What about the responsibilities for people using the track and the landowner's right to say when the land is closed?
· The landowner is not always on the land, i.e. a forestry company, people are going to go on and grow weed there.
- It is hard to ensure that people stay where they are supposed to be.
· Forest and Rural Fires Act: Can prevent access at high fire risk but couldn't legislation do something for this, to codify practices?
· What about access to public land through private land where there are no waterways?
· Difference between vehicle and foot access - theft, damage to property, speeding.
· Increasingly putting liability risks onto landowners, there is a shift on society.
· Insurance costs are rising as the risks go up.
· Do not issue permits for the Motueka River.
- Cost of access issue.
- How does the legislation mesh into the `negotiated solutions' part of the report?
- Costs associated with the devaluation of property, especially coastal.
· People come in once and think that they have the right to go in forever.
· Control access into the forest, such as a permit system.
· Create `haves' and `have-nots'.
· The cost of access should be a national issue.
· How can we reconcile the statutory right of way and encourage negotiated solutions?
· There is a large value on land here with coastal views.
· It is sad to see the demise of the Walkways Commission, with the ability to create access.
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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