• 
• 
• 
• 
  • Walking Access – Organisational structure, legislation and funding (cabinet paper)
  • Roading Law as it Applies to Unformed Roads – The Sequel
  • Report to the Minister of Rural Affairs
  • Analysis of written submissions
  • Roading law as it applies to unformed roads
  • Elements of the law on movable water boundaries
  • Consultation document
  • Summary document
  • Walking access in the New Zealand outdoors
  • The law on public access along water margins
  • Analysis of written submissions on the report: Walking access in the New Zealand outdoors
  • If visitors to my farm are injured, am I liable?
• 
• 
• 
• 

Outdoor Walking Access Report to the Minister for Rural Affairs

PART 2 AIM AND PRINCIPLES FOR WALKING ACCESS

5 Aim

The Panel considers that a high-level, overarching statement is needed to guide future access policy. After consultation, the Panel concludes that the aim for walking access is that:

New Zealanders have fair and reasonable access on foot to and along the coastline and rivers, around lakes and to public land.

The Panel found consensus on this “aim”.

The Panel recognises the difficulty in defining the term “reasonable”. The Panel considers that the phrase “fair and reasonable” reflects a balance between different interests. This report endeavours to give some context to the term without defining it. What is “reasonable” will need to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

The aim is consistent with section 6 of the Resource Management Act 1991, which states that “the maintenance and enhancement of public access to and along the coastal marine area, lakes, and rivers” is a matter of national importance.

The Panel decided not to specify that the aim includes visitors to New Zealand because the objective is for a strategy that focuses on the aspirations of New Zealanders. Its effects would, in practice, apply to visitors to New Zealand.