Palmerston North Stakeholder Meeting 23 October 2003
Sherwood Motor Inn, Featherston Street
10am to 12pm
16 Attended (Fish and Game, Horizons Manawatu, Federated Farmers, Farm Forestry, DOC, Palmerston North City Council, DOC)
Commentary
· In the Manawatu there may be short distances of the Queen's Chain and in some areas nothing.
- How has it come to this?
- The total river frontage may be less than 70%.
· Is the width of strips and reserves fixed?
- Where is the measurement from?
- Is it the normal practice that there is ownership to the middle of the river?
- What is a river (size)?
- Legitimate case for access to the water.
- Difficult if have to look at everything in isolation.
- Need information where it is meant to be.
· There are a lot of small streams through urban areas.
· The 3-metre rule works well, in a lot of strategic plans, an accepted width.
· Small waterways - eels and whitebait.
· Flood, river dries up, but still classed as a river when it cannot be measured.
· 60 000 hectares of covenants, land with previously no access.
· Endorse the fact that access is decreasing, in terms of informal relationships requiring permission.
- This is not a colossal problem, but it may increase.
· Agree where to define access.
- England has identified rights of way, use of GPS and wing maps.
· A covenant can be interfered with - under QEII.
· Not convinced that the right to roam has been ruled out.
· People go off paths, this is a big complaint.
· Regional councils have a good approach of education on resource consents.
· There has to be a comeback if people do not adhere to the code - an access agency could control that.
· Make sure critical access is well-defined - signposted, marked, notices and a code of conduct.
· What would DOC do about it?
· Farmers want the identity of people on their farms.
· It would be useful to have police at these meetings.
· The problem is not the people here.
· There are `scallywags' in any situation - why stop the 80% of good people for those that are bad?
· You will always get someone who breaks the rules.
· Public confusion about where you can go.
· Have you actually done a study of the issues?
· Hikers are few and far between.
- Most who come are hunters - pigs - and bring dogs.
- Cannot avoid guns and dogs as well.
· Against negotiated access because it is a right.
- Controlled access.
- Cannot take away the right to say no.
· What is the problem?
· Issues with the Manawatu River - it is difficult to have a walkway along the river.
· Archaic paper road system - review them, throw them out - why are they there?
- This would resolve some of the issues.
- Get district councils to review non-used land in their ownership.
- Go through public consultation.
- Paper roads do not exist in reality - not in titles.
· Responsibility of a government agency, mark and identify access.
- Negotiate if want to purchase access rights or mark new accessways.
- Not up to farmers to go out there and negotiate it.
- The main demand is from urban people.
- A land swap?
· Cost is an important thing, do not lose sight of it.
- Put undue cost on landowners or organisations.
- Should have controlled access, important that it is controlled.
- Do not expect landowners/organisations to pay for the greater good of all.
· Get rid of the Queen's Chain and put cadastral on rivers over 3 metres.
- Stream through the middle of property, not viable.
- QEII covenant - protected.
- District councils wanted walkers to be able to go through it, but concerns as this is a protected area.
· Negotiations are two-way.
· High country pastoral leases.
- Each farm sorted.
- Some private land, some public land.
- Sorting their problems out one by one.
· What is a waterway?
· Has there been identification of where the Queen's Chain/access is needed?
· Farmers have no problem with anglers but with eelers - flares at night.
· Fish and Game are concerned that rules against access will be imposed on bona fide anglers.
· Need to address issue of access with firearms.
· But a lot of Fish and Game carry firearms, so how can you ignore that other side?
- Duck shooters need the authority of the landowner to be there shooting.
· Look into the future.
- In the last 10 years there has been a lot of money involved in trout fishing - locked and privatised - `champagne water'.
- Want this stopped.
- Need an access point.
· How to keep information up to date.
- Problem when land changes hands.
- Need information on landowner.
- Especially if you are taking a trip outside of your own area.
· The consultation document needs to be fair.
- Do not be PC for Maori land.
- No land is any different, this is for all New Zealanders.
· Cannot force the cost of accessways on a small part of the country.
- This is a national problem.
- Regional councils do not want it, it should be central government.
- Problem of a cost shift from central to local government.
· The brochure talks about protecting Maori property rights, but not about other landowners.
· Do not want central government to advise on local solutions.
· Need right of appeal to Ombudsman.
· Easy access in Canada.
· There is a lot of access in New Zealand, but it is not marked.
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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