Access over private property - public interest vs private rights

Abstract

The exercise of private property rights is increasingly subject to restrictions by legislation and regulation in the wider public interest. Particularly in New Zealand, environmental and resource management law "has become integral to, and a major influence upon, the allocation and exercise of real property rights" (Grinlinton, 1995). The current debate about the adequacy (or otherwise) of walking access in the New Zealand outdoors and the potential provision of public access over private land raises questions about a further restriction on private property rights. The further qualification of rights of property through (potentially) legislation, inevitably results in tension between two competing ideologies; private property and the public interest. This project seeks to discuss the current access debate in the context of those competing sets of values and to stimulate the reader's thinking about the value and basis of the debate. Firstly, the current access debate is outlined, followed by a discussion of the concept of private property rights, the conflict between public and private interest and differing perspectives of infringements on those rights. Potential issues for farmers arising from incresed public access over private land are then set out. The project concludes by questioning the wider motives behind the access debate within the political context.