Access Takes Right Track

27 August 2007

Access Takes Right Track

Farmers are pleased that the government has recognised the rights of landowners and emphasised voluntary negotiation instead of regulation to extend access over private land, said Bruce McNab of Federated Farmers of New Zealand.

Mr McNab was commenting on the government today releasing its formal response to the findings of an independent panel on walking access.

“The response is welcome as it puts the final nail in the coffin of the government’s unpopular access legislation of 2005 which was strongly opposed by farmers and other landowners for being unworkable, draconian, and unnecessary.

“Federated Farmers led the charge against those access reforms, which were eventually scrapped in favour of a fresh round of consultation. That consultation led to the release of the Walking Access Panel report in March this year.

“We are delighted that the government’s response has backed the panel’s findings which promote local solutions and emphasise voluntary negotiation,” Mr McNab said.

Mr McNab said that farmers already provide access in the majority of cases. In the minority of cases where access is denied for no good reason, then these conflicts need to be resolved in a calm and measured way. The proposed access organisation Te Ara o Papatuanuku tasked with mediating disputes is a positive initiative.

“Federated Farmers endorses an environment where landowners and the public can negotiate appropriate management and access protocols that serve the interests of all parties in an inclusive and user-friendly manner.

“The general community understands that, in a democracy, private property rights need to be respected. The government’s response endorses this important principle,” Mr McNab said.

An issue which has yet to be sorted centres on paper (legal but unformed) roads, which are an occasional source of dispute between farmers and the recreational public. It is important that the issues around unformed legal roads are addressed in a way that meets everyone’s needs, resulting in better access and the ability of landowners to continue to run a business.”

ENDS

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