Open-slather ruling stuns private jetty owners

By JOSIE CLARKE

Boaties have High Court permission to tie up at any private jetty - a decision that has angered coastal property owners.

The ruling, made in a case in the High Court at Auckland, reaffirms boaties' rights to use private jetties to access public beaches, unless the owner has a permit saying otherwise.

Richard Hadfield, former commodore of the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club, said the ruling had caused "much consternation" among jetty owners who spent up to $100,000 building the structures and thousands each year maintaining them.

"They have always been considered private until recently and word is getting about now that they're not."

Jetty owners were also worried that they could be liable if someone was injured while using their jetties or diving from them.

Mr Hadfield said many boaties probably did not know that members of the public could use the jetties, and the ruling would cause mayhem.

"Boaties will return from their weekend on a stormy evening with family and young children and find their mooring, which they thought was exclusively theirs, has been taken by someone else."

Auckland Regional Council spokesman Andrew Benson said the Resource Management Act had always allowed boaties to use private jetties to access public areas but did not allow people to walk over private land or leave their boats tied up for the day.

Mr Benson said jetty owners had to compromise in the interests of the environment.

"We're saying, here is a bay with 20 baches in it. Do we want 20 wharves or two?"

The case, which began over an access dispute between neighbours on Kawau Island, has already been through the Environment Court and will now go to the Court of Appeal.

Kawau property owner Lyn Hume, whose jetty was at the centre of the case, said her family had never stopped people using the jetty to get to the beach or catch the ferry.

But it was wrong that those who paid for the wharf had no say in how it was used.

"All we can do is stand and watch - and pay if something goes wrong," said Mrs Hume.

She felt the law should require the public to contribute to the cost of maintaining jetties.