Walking Access Bill

The goverment is proposing to past the "Walking Access Bill". One caluse of this bill aims to replace 'legal roads' with 'public walkways. As trampers we might think this is great. Get rid of the annoying 4wd, horses, mountain bikes ect.... But it has other risks involved Legal Roads (including unformed or "paper" roads") provide an absolute and guaranteed right of access to the public. It is an enforceable right, and the Courts have consistently upheld that right both here and throughout the rest of the Commonwealth, as being absolute and immutable. To suggest that this Bill might allow the replacement of a legal road (affording guaranteed and unencumbered passage) with a walkway (affording no similar guarantees - and in fact easily extinguishable) is distressing. We might lose tracks or acess to tracks. A Walkway does not allow automatically for accompanying dogs, horses, firearms nor vehicles - the Roading network (including paper Roads) in general does. Why replace an absolute legal guarantee with a second-class "maybe". More info can be found here http://www.recreationaccess.org.nz/files/repression.html Personally I feel it is worth a letter to your local MP and even make a submission.