Waterfront rules snaffle access strip

Foreign buyers of land adjoining the coast and many lakes and rivers are likely to have to surrender 20m public access strips without compensation.

The clampdown is likely to be in the Overseas Investment Bill, set to be reported back from Parliament's finance and expenditure select committee as early as today.

It aims to toughen controls on foreigners buying land with special heritage or environmental values and was triggered by the sale to an overseas investor of Gisborne landmark Young Nick's Head.

The bill initially proposed to broaden the criteria used to consider whether such land should be sold and the range of conditions which could be imposed. But now it seems the committee may impose tougher controls on land bordering waterways.

It is likely to propose that foreign owners wanting to buy these land parcels will have to place 20-metre marginal strips in public ownership as a condition of the sale - if such a strip protecting public access doesn't already exist.

The proposal would not cover New Zealand investors or overseas investors wanting to become residents, essentially making it harder to sell land to foreign investors with no plans to live here.

The move is likely to be technically discriminatory under the Bill of Rights and will require vetting on that front by Attorney-General Michael Cullen, who as Finance Minister is also in charge of the bill.

But the Government is likely to argue the discrimination is justified, as it reflects an attempt to ensure the public retains access to, and greater control over, key iconic sites.

Provisions for the creation of marginal strips to improve the length of the Queen's Chain are already provided for in legislation when property is being subdivided.

A review of public access around waterways and other key outdoor areas was carried out last year.

It found foreign owners were less willing to allow the public access onto their property than other owners.

The review also found, despite the belief that a 20m Queen's Chain rimmed all the country's waterways, about half were inaccessible, some because of erosion and about 30 per cent because the land was privately owned.

The Government has controversially proposed to introduce legislation to extend a public right of access along all "significant" waterways - effectively extending the Queen's Chain, although ownership would remain with the landowner.

There has been speculation the bill would be shelved until after the election, but a spokeswoman for Associate Rural Affairs Minister Jim Sutton, who is in charge of the legislation, said yesterday it was expected to be introduced before then.

The Overseas Investment Bill will abolish the Overseas Investment Commission, shifting its role to Land Information New Zealand.

It also increases the threshold for approval of business acquisitions from $50 million to $100 million.

The Green Party has argued the threshold should be reduced to $10 million and that all land sales to non-resident foreign owners should be banned.

Green co-leader Rod Donald sits on the select committee considering the bill and would not comment on any specific changes yesterday.

But he said "while there have been small improvements to the bill, they are still largely window-dressing and don't address the fundamental issue, which is the increasing buy-up of New Zealand land and businesses by foreign investors".