Hello again!

The Taronui campaign is alive.

Bringing you all up to date, we expect answers soon regarding an electronic gate, erected this summer at Taronui.

The gate, put up by private property owners, is on public land, managed by the Department of Conservation.

An Official Information Act request for information dates back to mid- January but DOC, too, has been in lock-down.

While we have nothing in writing yet, it appears that the landowners did not have consent to erect the gate and will be required to apply for retrospective permission.

We expect the application to be publicly notified so that the community has an opportunity to express its views.

The landowners, who use the conservation strip to access their properties, cite safety as justification for keeping public vehicles off the road.

There are unsealed roads all over the country that lead to the coastline. This is not a convincing argument.

We will be looking to form a community body to engage further with DOC and iwi to achieve improved access to the open coast at Taronui Recreation Reserve.

Taronui, we are advised, is not a budget priority for DOC and the department has indicated that a community partnership may be an option.

Vision Kerikeri’s Rod Brown, in the group's newsletter, expresses a view about such community partnerships as they apply to the district council. The sentiment applies equally here.

“…Communities don’t need to sit back waiting for our resource strapped Council to shoulder the maintenance work for all public reserves. Local groups can play a major role in turning neglected stream-side reserves into beautiful walkways. A community-initiated project in partnership with Council can be a rewarding way of enhancing public amenities.”

So, we will embark on a national effort to raise funds to cover legal expenses, so that a management group can be developed from grass roots. If necessary, further fundraising can pay for alignment and upgrading of the road to Taronui Recreation Reserve.

We need to keep plugging away for future generations.

Keri Molloy

Email: kerimolloy2@gmail.com

Important points:

·      According to legal advice, it’s a straightforward process for DOC to support vehicle access. It would simply be a management decision, within the department, as to how to administer the area.

·      DOC is bound by law to identify where the public have the right of access to the coast, or where foreshore reserves, public access ways, formed roads or tracks, should be created to maintain or enhance such access.

·      The maintenance and enhancement of public access to and along the coast is recognised as a matter of national importance in the Resource Management Act 1991 S6 (d) and by the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 1994.

·      DOC recognises the value of the natural environment to New Zealanders: “It underpins our natural identity, economy and lifestyles.”

·      DOC publicly encourages New Zealanders to connect and contribute to conservation. The department’s vision and outcome statement reflects the importance of working in partnership with others. ”It is important that we take a customer-focused approach, working alongside our partners.” - Department of Conservation 2016 Vision, Priorities and Outcomes [2016].

·      Comprehensive reports have been carried out in the past for the Far North District Council and DOC by Mike McGlynn (Ecological Assessment Taronui Bay Recreation Reserve, 2001) and Katrina Upperton (Assessment of Recreation Opportunities and Impacts at Taronui Recreation Reserve, Kerikeri, 2001).

·      In 2005, then Minister of Conservation Chris Carter said, “I really want this to be open for public access. And it’s no secret that DOC would eventually like to see vehicle access that the public could use. We need to keep talking.”