No cause for alarm at access plans

by MARK NEESON

There is no reason for access issues “to blow up again” as high country farmers suggested in Rural News’ last issue (June 22).

The information on the location of roads is not new. No new information is being generated by the New Zealand Walking Access Commission.

The presence of unformed legal roads intersecting farms should not be a surprise to landholders – a title search is a basic requirement for anyone considering a property purchase of any kind.

Indeed, the commission’s work should not be a surprise – the consultative process has been going on for eight years.

Landholders, recreational users, and the public all agreed during the access debates that started in 2002 that information about the location of public and private land and access was not readily available and that it should be.

Recreational access to New Zealand’s outdoors is part of who we are, part of our nation’s heritage and culture. Enjoyment of our beaches, rivers, and mountains is seen as the birthright of all New Zealanders.

A further agreement was that the commission, set up under the Walking Access Act 2008, would have no coercive powers over private landholders, and that property rights – public and private – would be respected.

As a result of this consensus of opinion, all parties have adopted a collaborative approach to access.

One outcome is that the commission is required by the Walking Access Act 2008 to “compile, hold, and publish maps and information about land over which members of the public have walking access”.

The most practical and cost-effective way to do this is through an online mapping system, using aerial photography, topographic maps, and the cadastral information (the official record of land ownership in New Zealand) as its base.

It defines not just roads, but boundaries of farms as well.

Without making the information easily available, any mistakes or discrepancies cannot be corrected.

LINZ is beginning a project to improve the information on the cadastral database and this will be sped up by the information the inquiries feature of the commission’s mapping system.

There has been no secrecy or surprises with the project.

It is clearly signalled in the legislation and the preceding debates and reports. It is important to note that none of the information that will be on the mapping system is new – it is all publicly-available information now.

The commission is publishing an Outdoor Access Code (see story below) to highlight responsibilities for those using outdoor land, and this will be linked to the mapping system.

Stakeholders have had regular briefings, and Federated Farmers is represented on the project’s steering committee.

A disclaimer page will include warnings that just because there is legal access, it does not mean that access is either practical or safe. Another warning will be that tracks on the topographic maps are not necessarily access ways – only the cadastral information layer shows legal access.

Local authorities deal with roading issues as core business.

The commission is working with Local Government NZ to publish a guidance document focussing on unformed legal roads.

Liability issues have been well-traversed: Federated Farmers has worked with the Department of Labour to produce a factsheet “If visitors to my farm are injured, am I liable”.

• Mark Neeson is chief executive of the New Zealand Walking Access Commission.

Rural News.

One of the interesting parts of being on the Executive of the NZFFA is that you never know what is going to appear on your computer screen next! It’s been a most interesting year with a lot happening and while much is new quite often they relate to issues connected to similar issues historically. We are fortunate (thanks to Strato Cotsilinis and his wife Carmen) to have a record of all the Minutes and Presidents Reports going back to our formation in 1975. The reason for mentioning this, is not just that they make very interesting reading, but that they contain an enormous amount of detailed information that we are able to refer to – and then to build on or modify for the day’s events.  I have a real antipathy to re-inventing the wheel. Issues such as trout farming, new hydro dams, the changing face of legislation, mining the conservation estate and difficulties with access.  Our actions regarding these are stated in black and white.

This of course means that we have a head-start on others not so well prepared or aware of similarities from the past, as  well as references to show others of ‘what really happened and why’.

Read more here......