Acland welcomes new agency

Walking Access Advisory Board Chair John Acland today welcomed the establishment of a new walking access agency as an important step forward in improving public access.

“The Walking Access Advisory Board supports the establishment of this new Crown entity and the transfer of the provisions in the New Zealand Walkways Act 1990 to it”, Mr Acland said.

“This new agency will help provide free, certain, enduring and practical access to New Zealand’s great outdoors. It will build on the excellent work of the Land Access Ministerial Reference Group and the Walking Access Consultation Panel.

“It has taken some time to get to this point, but the consultations have given people from one end of New Zealand to the other the opportunity to contribute to the outcome.

“I would like to personally thank the many people who attended the consultation meetings and made submissions. It is great that we are going forward with this concept which will benefit all New Zealanders.”