Outdoors
Marine Reserves
As citizens of a maritime nation, New Zealanders all interact with, make use of, and are affected by the health of the marine environment. It is a source of recreation, food, minerals, biodiversity, transport and, it has to be said, waste disposal.
United Future seeks to find better ways to enhance the marine environment in general, and its fish stocks and food gathering potential in particular.
United Future's position is to:
- ensure that recreational interests are properly consulted regarding any regulatory changes to allowable marine activities
- establish a graduated comprehensive system of marine protection for the entire marine environment whereby no-take marine reserves are one of several available categories of protection (the category that affords the maximum level of restrictions)
- investigate ways to mitigate the offshore sediment problem and poor water quality resulting from the fertiliser and other pollutant run-off into streams and rivers that ultimately ends up in coastal waters and damages to marine life
- ensure that marine reserves are not used as a fisheries management tool for harvestable species – the existing QMS (in conjunction with more scientific research) is the best means for achieving this.
Practical Access to Public Land
United Future believes that all New Zealanders have a birthright to enjoy our unique, diverse landscape. Our strong outdoor heritage is central to what it means to be a Kiwi.
United Future, while welcoming the recommendations of the Walking Access Consultation Panel, believes that those recommendations did not go far enough to promote the public's right of access to public land.
United Future's position is to:
- go further than the proposed mandate for the recently announced access agency (Te Ara o Papatuanuku) and ensure that the notional Queen's Chain is formally enshrined in statute
- ensure that New Zealanders have clearly defined legal rights of access to public land (including the Queen's Chain)
- support the establishment of the land access agency to analyse, implement, administer and enforce a comprehensive land access strategy
- establish (via a land access agency in conjunction with Land Information New Zealand) a comprehensive land access database including maps and specific access corridor details
Department of Conservation Reform
United Future believes that the Department of Conservation should be responsive to the interests of all stakeholders when administering the conservation estate – including outdoor recreation groups, environmental organisations, the business sector, and individual New Zealanders in general.
United Future's position is to:
- amend the Conservation Act to ensure that the interests of all conservation estate stakeholders are taken properly into account when decisions are made (including the "national interest") to improve the Department's accountability by preventing it from being both law maker and law enforcer
- review the Department of Conservation's advocacy responsibilities to ensure that it does not use taxpayers' money to waste ratepayers' money in unnecessary appeals against local authorities in the Environment Court.
- restructure the Department of Conservation into at least two semi-autonomous divisions – one division responsible for the "conservation" aspects such as scientific research, pest control, and native plant and animal stewardship; the other division responsible for the "recreation" aspects such as land and waterway access, track and hut maintenance, game management, and tourism
- provide additional funding for pest control measures that target the most noxious and destructive pests, e.g. possums, rats, and mustelids etc once thorough consultation has taken place with relevant local community and recreational groups.
- Although supportive of most current pest control methods, United Future is generally opposed to the aerial application of 1080 unless it is proven beyond reasonable doubt that the terrain in the treatment area is such that it would be impossible to carry out a successful ground baiting operation.
Reclassification of Deer, Chamois, Tahr and Pigs
Current legislation and policy focuses solely on these animals as pests to be eradicated and takes no account of the resource value derived from their existence in New Zealand. Eradication is an impractical objective for the widespread ungulate species, particularly red deer.
The policy emphasis should be on a management regime recognising the historical, cultural, biodiversity and recreational value of these animals, while not neglecting the environmental responsibilities that come with managing such a resource.
A Consultation Panel
The Minister of Conservation in conjunction with United Future has appointed a Consultation Panel, with defined terms of reference, to develop a plan for the management of deer, chamois, tahr and pigs.
The panel specifically recognises that a "one-size-fits-all" approach will not be possible. Rather it will need to concentrate on the principles that should relate to the management of these animals by species and by area. The panel has been drawn from persons with recreational and environmental management expertise to ensure that a balanced outcome is obtained.
Oceans
United Future recognises that the ocean is of vital importance.
We believe that the wide range of commercial opportunities presented by New Zealand's large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) brings with it a duty to act cautiously and responsibly.
United Future wants to see the economic potential of New Zealand's EEZ developed – but not at the expense of causing lasting environmental harm or seriously curtailing recreational opportunities.
United Future's position is to:
- develop, in consultation with all stakeholders, sensible, balanced and far reaching marine management plans
- promote, and provide the necessary funding for, education at all levels of society as the single most important ingredient for ensuring the future wellbeing of the marine environment
- participate in and help to develop truly international agreements to address truly global problems facing the world's oceans such as pollution, over-fishing, agricultural runoff and the over exploitation of resources
- ensure that the Department of Conservation is no longer involved in the implementation of rules and regulations concerning New Zealand's oceans and replace it with an agency that is obliged to treat all relevant stakeholders in an even-handed manner.
Recreational Risk Management
At present many outdoor events are being put under pressure or cancelled by the increasing application of OSH regulations that were originally designed, quite appropriately, for commercial and industrial environments.
United Future's position is to:
- amend OSH and related regulations to take into account the fact that there is an inherent risk in outdoor activities – and that this forms part of their very appeal
- clarify the law relating to the liability of event organisers
- generally work to ensure that schools, sporting organisations and individuals are free to organise and participate in outdoor events without fear of legal reprisal if something not easily foreseen goes wrong
Marine Recreational Fishing
United Future recognises that New Zealanders have a long tradition of making the most of our marine resources and, as such, have acquired common rights to harvest a bounty that is accessible to all.
Our overriding aim is to have the rights of recreational users and harvesters enshrined in law.
United Future's position is to:
- establish a statutory management structure for the marine recreational fishery (to be superimposed over one of the existing marine fishing organisations) – possibly along the same lines as the Fish and Game management structure
- review and amend the Fisheries Act to ensure that recreational fishers have a priority right over and above the commercial fishing sector to free and unrestricted access to a reasonable daily bag-limit of shellfish and finfish
Freshwater Recreational Fishing
Given the high quality of New Zealand's freshwater fishery and its management structure, we are primarily concerned with two issues related to the freshwater fisheries: 1) water quality and (2) right of access.
United Future's position is to:
- ensure that a program to improve water quality is developed and implemented through consultation with all stakeholders – this should include financial incentives to assist eligible industries to clean up their act
- continue to develop a National Environmental Standard (NES) for the quality of New Zealand's freshwater lakes and waterways
- develop a rapid response unit within Biosecurity New Zealand to respond to future reported potential threats similar to didymo with the mandate to immediately 'close' a waterway from public use
- reinstate the Queens Chain where applicable as a pre-requisite before foreign land sales can be approved
- ensure that the commercialisation of trout species and other freshwater species will remain illegal in order to preserve our freshwater fisheries for recreation and tourism
- promote the principle that all New Zealanders have a common right to access unpolluted freshwater fisheries and waterways for recreational use.