Woolerton R Doug: Walking Access Bill — In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Woolerton R Doug: Walking Access Bill — In Committee 
[Sitting date: 02 September 2008. Volume:649;Page:18591. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First supports the Walking Access Bill and I am pleased to hear that National does. I just want to talk a little bit about property rights because in case Jacqui has not had a look around lately— 
Jacqui Dean 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I would prefer to be referred to by my correct name if that is alright with you. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Hon Clem Simich) 
: You are absolutely right. Mr Woolerton— 
R DOUG WOOLERTON 
: I apologise Mr Chairman. I could not remember the lady’s proper name at the time so I had to refer to her as I did. If that gave offence I apologise.  
I wanted to say that the previous speaker probably does not recognise the changing face of the rural environment given that the National Party does not take the interest in that sector that it once did. My brother for instance has a property that encompasses the properties of 10 previous owners. One of them was the property of Bill Waring—Marilyn Waring’s father. Just to rock up to a farmer’s gate and ask for permission to go across the property is not what will be the case in many instances. One is more likely to be talking to the manager of a property who will be far more reluctant to give permission to anybody to wander across the property to access lakes streams or rivers.  
The setting up of a commission is an ideal way to go. I think this will be a start. I think walkways will become a part of the landscape in future and they will be surveyed and recognised. It will not be a grace and favour situation where a property owner says: “Yes I am in a good mood today so I will let you walk across my property.” or in the future the property of his or her employer. In New Zealand we need to respect the fact that there is not just one lot of property rights. There is private ownership and there is the public right to access rivers streams and so on. That is what makes us unique and different from the country that many of us or our forefathers hail from and indeed from the country in whose traditions this Parliament was established.  
In that country—in many parts of Europe and particularly in England—the landowner controlled the lakes streams rivers etc. and if one wanted to fish in the stream or on the lake then one had to pay the landowner. In this country we must protect those other sets of rights: the rights of people to have free and unfettered access to their lakes streams and rivers—not the landholder’s lakes streams and rivers. We in New Zealand First say that if a track needs to be surveyed across that property—not fenced but identified—we are more than happy that compensation be paid to the landowner. We are more than happy if that person has to be compensated in some way for any inconvenience whatsoever. We are happy for that to happen. We hope the commission established by this bill will look at these things into the future and we hope these things will be common practice in this country.  
I think the bill enhances our lifestyle; I do not think anybody who owns farms will have anything to fear from it. In saying this I acknowledge somebody who has been perhaps rather harshly treated in recent history on this issue and that is the Hon Jim Sutton who initially started this bill. The Walking Access Bill has been finessed out of a bill that he proposed. We would have had trouble supporting his original bill but that is the way democracy works and that is progress. We are happy to support this bill and happy to support Part 1.