KEY POINTS:
Farmers have won an important victory in the land access issue and what is effectively the final nail in the coffin has been hammered into plans to open public access to waterways.
Property owners will be expected to negotiate with trampers and anglers who want to cross their land, if a fresh solution wins favour.
In contrast to unpopular proposals put forward by Labour in 2004, landowners are set to be given a right to veto - or to at least receive compensation if land is taken for access.
The proposals are in an independent report released yesterday.
In a win for farmers, it recommends a commission be set up to identify land access problems, and to help negotiate when there are disputes.
Farmers are happy with the compromise, and outdoor recreation groups have cautiously welcomed the proposals although there is some concern farmers will simply refuse access.
The Government has been watching the issue closely as the number of foreign landowners in New Zealand increases and there is a shift toward properties being run by managers rather than owners.
The report effectively kills plans to open access to lakes, creeks and rivers without compensation to landowners for the public use of their land.
Labour copped a backlash from farmers when it suggested it would make them let people on to land which bordered a "significant" waterway.
The plan was eventually shelved after widespread farmer protest, and Labour's post-election agreements with New Zealand First and United Future ensured it would not go ahead in its original form.
Yesterday Rural Affairs Minister Damien O'Connor said the Government had "certainly not stepped back from the challenge of trying to progress this difficult and complex issue".
While the Government could take another three months to decide what to adopt from the report, the recommendations were greeted positively.
National hailed the outcome as a "massive backdown" for Labour.
Agriculture spokesman David Carter was pleased Labour had "finally listened to reason".
Under the panel's plan, goodwill rather than compulsion would play a major part in future access issues.
Mr O'Connor's claim of a "huge amount" of goodwill was backed by Federated Farmers.
Instead of forcibly imposing walkways, Mr O'Connor said there would be a "clear obligation" on landowners to work with a commission to negotiate access.
As a last resort, if a property owner rejects access, it has been recommended the commission be empowered to take land under the Public Works Act. The owner would be compensated.
Federated Farmers' spokesman Bruce McNab said that he expected a stalemate would be very rare, and he was not too concerned by the Public Works Act proposal.
The commission is likely to gather information about existing access around the country, mapping out what accessways already exist.
Mr O'Connor said this information did not currently exist in a form that the public could use.
In some cases, there were "paper roads" on private land to which the public had access but their location was not always known.
It is expected to take two years to gather that information, and Mr O'Connor said it could be another "10 to 20 years" before all the issues of access were resolved.
The Queen's Chain
What is it?
In December 1840, Queen Victoria instructed Governor Hobson to ensure his surveyor-general set aside a strip of land one chain wide (20m) on "places fit to be set aside for the recreation and amusement of the inhabitants". That was interpreted as setting aside a strip of land alongside waterways as a public reserve.
Why is it a problem?
The Queen's Chain is a well-known term, but it has never been legally defined. People who want access to remote areas have been in conflict with some property owners. Up to 30 per cent of waterways may have no Queen's Chain.
What has the Government done?
Set up the Walking Access Panel to make recommendations about how to reconcile each side's issues. The panel issued its report yesterday, and recommended an independent commission meet landowners and recreational users to negotiate access routes across private land.
In a minority report, panel member Bryce Johnson said the recommendations might not achieve the Government's stated policy objective of completing the Queen's Chain. The Government says there have never been any plans for a Queen's Chain across New Zealand's back-country.
