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Access to the great outdoors, especially our beaches, rivers, and lakes, is part of New Zealand tradition and I know this is close to many Wairarapa people's hearts.
Until a few years ago, most people assumed the Queen's Chain covered all waterways - that everyone could walk, drive, or take dogs along a roughly 20 metre strip of public land alongside beaches, lakes, and rivers.
Unfortunately, because of erosion or a failure of early provincial governments, coverage is only about 50 percent now and there is no clear way that someone can tell whether there is Queen's Chain access on a particular piece of land.
Some say the status quo is fine and no changes are needed, but that just isn't so. If we do nothing, our wonderful New Zealand tradition of access along waterways will continue to be chipped away, until eventually, for practical purposes, it is gone.
Even the National Party accept that something has to be done. All National MPs voted for a private members' bill to extend the full Queen's Chain across land to be sold to foreigners - essentially, nationalising a 20-metre strip of land along waterways, a much more radical move that this Government's policy.
So what has been decided?
We have decided to embrace the Queen's Chain ethos, which will see walking access extended along waterways with significant access value throughout the country. The new five-metre strips remain the property of the landowner, but walkers will not have to ask permission to walk along the river, lake, or seashore.
As part of a three-year programme, a new access agency will clearly set out legal access where it currently exists and endeavour to negotiate walking access across private property to water margins where there is none now.
However, the decision would not see the Queen's Chain automatically extended to cover all the missing areas along rivers, lakes, and beaches. The original Queen's Chain has few restrictions on it and we want to be quite clear that this new access is for walkers only. It is not for people in vehicles, people with dogs or people with guns, unless they have the express permission of the landholder.
The Government wants to ensure that New Zealanders have free and secure access along the coast, rivers, lakes and mountains while, at the same time, respecting the interests of property owners. The new access ways would also give way to a 50-metre exclusion zone around houses, and a 20-metre zone around farm buildings.
Access to these iconic water bodies is a very important part of maintaining the "real New Zealand". These places are of great cultural and social importance to New Zealanders, and having access to them is important.
As well, in New Zealand, water and the fish in it are public resources, belonging to everyone. New Zealand's rivers, lakes, and seas are nobody's private property.
Farmers had for many years, and many still do, give free access across their properties to beaches, lakes, rivers, and conservation land and I acknowledge the generous spirit New Zealand farmers have displayed to their fellow citizens.
Unfortunately, over time, this has changed in many situations, particularly as ownership has changed, reflecting the increasing urbanisation of our society. It used to be that many of our people had relatives on the farm who they would visit for holidays, so learning how to behave in the often hazardous farm environment. Nowadays, that link is rare, and urban people are often disconnected from the realities of rural life.
A statutory code of responsible conduct, similar in concept to that of the animal welfare codes, will be introduced to ensure that people are aware of their responsibilities to the landholder when on rural land. Certain standards of behaviour are expected.
We hope to introduce a bill into the House by the middle of this year to enact these recommendations.
The public will have further input into this important issue when the bill is referred to select committee but anyone wishing to comment can write to Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton at Parliament or to me and I will forward it to him.
I hope you had a safe and happy Easter break as we count down to the school holidays. It is hard to believe we are almost a quarter of the way through this year already and that the first school term is almost over.
Maybe during these holidays you could consider taking your children to your local library and check out a few books.
Just about every home has a telly, and many kids have an extra one in their bedroom, and that's fine, but it'd be great if every home also had shelves full of books.
This is why I support the government-sponsored programme Books in Homes, which is celebrating its tenth birthday this year with the message that It's Cool to Read.
Breaking the cycle of "booklessness" for children was the brainchild of author Alan Duff, who saw that pupils in the most needy areas had no books in their homes and showed little or no interest in reading.
Every New Zealander, regardless of their background, should have the chance to reach their full potential, and the key is learning. Everyone should be able to read widely and well - and enjoy doing it.
Until next week.
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