22 March 2005

United Future / ORNZ – 10 point plan

1. Split DOC into two semi-autonomous divisions – one for recreational activities and one for the conservation estate. Transfer all its advocacy and policy-making capabilities to the Ministry for the Environment.

2. Remove DOC from the marine reserve application process and ban it from proposing or initiating marine reserve applications.

3. Require a land access agency to negotiate specific access corridors across private land bordering public land (including the Queen’s Chain) with landowners on a case-by-case basis – preferably based on existing ‘paper roads’ and easements.

4. Modify the laws regarding game animals in New Zealand, including changing the legal status of large game animals to ensure they are treated as a resource and not as a pest – for example, require that when 10/80 pellets are used for pest control, they are of the type that contains deer repellent.

5. Establish a dedicated Maritime Protection Force with comprehensive sea and air capability to patrol New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

6. Require that government agencies use an empirical science-based approach in identifying and managing environmental problems, and ensure that all environmental regulations support the principle that people are an integral part of the ecosystem and have a right to sustainably operate in and utilise the ecosystem.

7. Develop, in consultation with all stakeholders, sensible, balanced and far-reaching marine management plans as part of a comprehensive oceans policy.

8. Amend OSH and related regulations to take into account the fact that there is an inherent risk in outdoor activities (including clarifying the law as it relates to the liability of event organisers).

9. Review and amend the Fisheries Act to ensure that recreational fishers have priority over commercial fishing to free and unrestricted access to a reasonable daily bag-limit of shellfish and finfish.

10. Develop a National Environmental Standard (NES) to preserve New Zealand’s freshwater lakes and waterways.

ENDS

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