Duncan Garner: Power and money hungry councils must be wound down
Cape Palisser: A visit is one of life's simple pleasures. Photo / Getty Images
Cape Palliser is a beautiful and unique part of our country. It’s on the South Wairarapa coast; it’s remote, rugged and windswept. It has a great surf break, and people go there to hike, walk, mountain bike, fish and just take it all in. I went a number of times during the 17 years I lived in Wellington. It’s a stunning place, an extraordinary landscape to explore.
Kiwis love accessing the foreshore and beaches around this country. We regard it as our birthright and anyone or anything that gets in our way is usually met with condemnation.
But Cape Palliser might soon be off limits, not just to cars, but to everyone and everything – despite being a public place.
Why? Because the over-the-top, heavy-handed bureaucrats at the South Wairarapa District Council have their blinkers on and are about to close a stretch of unformed road along the coastline to the east of Cape Palliser. The road is the best way to access the Cape. The proposed alternative involves a full-day back-breaking hike through bush. The road is public; it’s owned by all of us, and the reserve is owned by all New Zealanders too.
But the council is going too far with this heavy-handed bylaw. It’s a case of using a sledgehammer where nuance is needed. Banning 4WDs might be justified. The road is fragile and 4WDs have caused problems there. But why ban the public from walking and biking in the area?
The road, which crosses public and private land, was initially to be closed to cars only, but the private landowner asked the council to stop everyone and everything. The council proposal is that the road will remain closed for three years then the decision would be reviewed.
Why take the public’s simple pleasures away? As it is our cities are getting more crowded, housing density is squeezing us in and the need to get out and enjoy the outdoors is crucial to our wellbeing. How on earth does this meet that goal?
Tuesday, August 19 is the last day for submissions.
The Cape Palliser issue is typical of councils throughout the country, not just in the Wairarapa. The model is broken. The Government has suggested it’s time to rid ourselves of some of these organisations. Minister Shane Jones says councils have gone beyond what the public expects; he wants fewer councils and has the regions in his sights.
PM Christopher Luxon says we are simply over-governed: “I think we’ve got too many layers of government, frankly, if I’m honest with you, whether it’s district councils, regional councils, central government...”