Accessing the outdoors

Walking Access Consultation Panel

Public access to the outdoors prompted the government to set up a Walking Access Consultation Panel two years ago.

The panel was to determine what constituted "fair and reasonable access on foot to and along coastline and rivers, around lakes and to public land". It reported back to the Minister of Rural Affairs in March 2007. Paper roads are just one small strand in a debate about public access to New Zealand's great outdoors.

The panel suggested two possible remedies for disputes about walking access over unformed roads.

• Paper road disputes could be referred to district courts to settle on a case-by-case basis; or
• Local councils' duty to keep paper roads open could be made more explicit, in exchange for the ability to pass bylaws and restrict inappropriate use - especially by 4x4s - to certain paper roads.

The panel has also asked the government to consider whether or not a comprehensive map of all paper roads should be created for the public. Other recommendations include signposting and marking popular paper roads so they're easier to find.

Te Araroa Trust

The Te Araroa Trust aims to have a "long pathway" from one end of New Zealand to the other over 2600km of continuous track by 2008. This pathway depends on regional walkways, Department of Conservation trails, and paper roads.

Project CEO Geoff Chapple says that public access to paper roads allows the long pathway to move through otherwise impassable blocks: "From time to time, the trail comes across a paper road that traverses private property. The existence of a paper road means that we can negotiate with the landowner and find a passage through."

Geoff believes public access to the New Zealand landscape is vital: "To experience the physical lie of the land is important in itself. I hope that when people walk the Te Araroa trail - or parts of the trail - they view it as a significant achievement."