News Media Release Recreation Access New Zealand 18 October 2007

Recreation members warned of abuse of information

Recreation Access New Zealand (RANZ) welcomes the appointment of three recreationists to Government's Walking Access Advisory Board, This should rectify grave deficiencies in previous Government-appointed bodies on walking access.

RANZ spokesman Bruce Mason believes that the effectiveness of advocacy of the public interest will depend on the abilities of the Advisory Board's recreation members to identify erroneous official advice and to come up with well-founded alternatives. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) will service the Board.

Mr Mason believes that the previous walking access panel and reference group was poorly served by MAF. Legal advice on unformed roads was found by RANZ to seriously understate the extent of public rights while advancing a thesis of farmers having rights of 'occupation' over roads. RANZ's research revealed that the law contradicts the latter proposition. MAF's advice is subject to a complaint to the State Services Commission that there has been an abuse of information and a breach of the Public Service Code of Conduct.

Government identifies unformed roads as a major plank of any access strategy. However loss of public rights to use roads could result from acceptance of flawed advice tended to or inherited by the Advisory Board.

Mr Mason hopes that the recreation members will keep the public interest paramount, ahead of ever-present pressures from territorial authorities and others to restrict public usage of roads. However RANZ does not believe that it is either lawful or desirable that roads are damaged by 4WD or other recreational vehicles.

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