Government urged to protect public access

By RUTH BERRY political reporter

The Government must act to reverse the increasing loss of public access to beaches, rivers and mountains, says a report presented to Rural Affairs Minister Jim Sutton yesterday.

The land access reference group report, set to be released within a week, says private property-owners are increasingly shutting the public out.

Sources say the report recommends that an agency be set up to enhance public access to waterways and high-country land, and that the relevant laws should be clarified.

None of those moves should trample on the rights of private property-owners, but efforts to encourage mediation between different groups should be initiated, the report says.

Fears that the public's ability to enjoy a barbecue on the beach may be compromised by customary title claims to the foreshore and seabed have fuelled anger against some of the iwi driving the issue.

Some politicians have raised the spectre of fees to go to the beach, while others fear that it could lead to beaches being bought or sold.

But the report to Mr Sutton reveals that property-owners are already refusing access to numerous coastal, river and mountain sites and tensions have been growing over the issue for some time.

The report also shows payment is already being demanded for access - either by people who own the land bordering the sea or river, for example, or who own the property people need to go through to reach the sites.

Mr Sutton has received regular briefings on the report, and its findings are now being used to help the Government develop a response to the foreshore and seabed claims.

The Government continues to hedge over when it will announce its proposals to resolve the issue.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said yesterday that an announcement was expected this week or next.

The protection of public access to any areas where claims to customary title - which may be differently defined by the Government - are upheld by the Maori Land Court will be central to the proposals unveiled.

Mr Sutton initially called for the land access report after a growing number of clashes between private property-owners and members of the public, including surfers, mountaineers and public-access campaigners.

The report has found there is no such thing as an uninterrupted Queen's Chain - public land ringing the country's waterways - and that access to the coast is particularly problematic.

Meanwhile, Land Information New Zealand is working out how much of the foreshore - the land between the high- and low-tide marks - is already in private ownership.