Outdoor walking access: Report to the Minister of Rural Affairs

This report contains the Walking Access Consultation Panel’s recommendations for how New Zealanders’ access to rivers, lakes, the coastline and other public land can be improved and managed over the coming years.

This document is available in PDF format as a full document (642 KB) or in sections (please use the links below).

To read PDF files you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free software available from Adobe.

Contents

Preliminary pages (Foreword and Contents) (PDF, 126 KB)

Summary (PDF, 53 KB)

Part 1: Introduction (PDF, 80 KB)

1 Background

2 Structure of report

3 Identified access issues

4 About the Walking Access Consultation Panel
4.1 Appointment of the Panel
4.2 Terms of reference
4.3 Summary of consultation process

Part 2: Aim and principles for walking access (PDF, 66 KB)

5 Aim

6 Principles
Principle 1: Quality of access
Principle 2: Private property
Principle 3: Public interest
Principle 4: Respect for the environment
Principle 5: Respect for people

Part 3: Evaluation of the issues

7 Leadership (PDF, 78 KB)
7.1 Background
7.2 Options for a new access organisation
Recommendations on leadership

8 Types of access (PDF, 89 KB)
8.1 Background
8.2 Marginal strips
8.3 Esplanade reserves, esplanade strips and access strips
8.4 Public reserves and Crown-owned land
8.5 Unformed legal roads (“paper roads”)
Recommendations on types of access

9 Information about existing access (PDF, 82 KB)
9.1 Background
9.2 Mapping
9.3 Signposting
9.4 Refusal of access
9.5 Water margin access and the Trespass Act 1980
Recommendations on information about existing access

10 Restoring and realigning lost access (PDF, 72 KB)
10.1 Background
10.2 Realignment of access along rivers
10.3 Restoring lost coastal access
10.4 Future erosion
Recommendations on restoring and realigning lost access

11 New access (PDF, 144 KB)
11.1 Background
11.2 Current initiatives
11.3 Voluntary access
11.4 Existing legal provisions
11.5 An access strategy
11.6 Negotiated access
11.7 A contestable fund
11.8 Conflict resolution
11.9 New access legislation
Recommendations on new access

12 Māori land and access (PDF, 102 KB)
12.1 Background
12.2 Treaty of Waitangi
12.3 Public access to Māori land
12.4 Location of and respect for wāhi tapu and rāhui
12.5 Access for Māori to tāonga located on private land
12.6 Economic issues
Recommendations on Māori land and access

13 Code of responsible conduct (PDF, 77 KB)
13.1 Background
13.2 Existing legislation
13.3 Existing codes of conduct
13.4 Possible content of a new code
13.5 Possible status of a new code
Recommendations on a code of responsible conduct

14 Landholder liability (PDF, 81 KB)
14.1 Background
14.2 Accident compensation
14.3 Liability under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 (HSEA)
14.4 Other liability
Recommendations on landholder liability

15 Fire risk (PDF, 75 KB)
15.1 Background
15.2 Access and fire risk
15.3 Managing access to minimise fire risk
15.4 Liability for costs
15.5 Department of Internal Affairs fire legislation review
Recommendation on fire risk

16 Rural crime and security (PDF, 63 KB)
16.1 Background
16.2 Correlation between access and crime
Recommendations on rural crime and security

17 Biosecurity (PDF, 55 KB)
17.1 Background
17.2 Managing biosecurity rists
Recommendation on biosecurity

18 Other matters (PDF, 85 KB)
18.1 “Exclusive capture”
Recommendations on “exclusive capture”
18.2 Access with motor vehicles, horses and bicycles
Recommendations on access with motor vehicles, horses and bicycles
18.3 Hunting
Recommendation on hunting
18.4 Dogs
Recommendation on dogs

Part 4: Conclusion (PDF, 136 KB)

19 Conclusion
Overall recommendations

20 Summary of recommendations

21 Alternative view
Leadership (section 7)
Restoring and realigning lost access (section 10)
New access (section 11)
Other matters (section 18)

22 Plan of action

Appendices (PDF, 190 KB)
A: List of abbreviations
B: References
C: Glossary
D: Members of the Walking Access Consultation Panel
E: Walking Access Consultation Panel’s terms of reference
F: Existing institutions
G: Access organisation – possible forms
H: Estimated length of unformed legal road by district
I: Summary of Roading Law as it Applies to Unformed Roads
J: Summary of Elements of the Law on Movable Water Boundaries

| next