Surfbreak Protection Society
Surfbreak Protection Society
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Protection for Surfbreaks – NZCPS Policy 18
13 Jul 10
In May we reported that the long awaited NZ Coastal Policy Statement (NZCPS) had been leaked by one of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) members Philip Woollaston. The Minister of Conservation had been sitting on the new policy, recommended by the BOI, for nearly a year and had denied Surfbreak Protection’s request for release of the report under the Official Information Act.

Surfbreak Protection’s particular interest is the proposed Policy 20 for the protection of surfbreaks. The BOI heard many written and oral submissions made by surfers.

Two weeks ago the full BOI report (367 pages) arrived in the mailbox, with a letter from the minister saying that because ‘circumstances had changed’, she was now able to release the report.

The good news is that protection of surfbreaks is now enshrined in the new NZCPS, but with a slight amendment in that it has become Policy 18. If you are interested in the BOI deliberations of the proposal for protection of surfbreaks and their final recommendation, you can read the Working Papers here (link).

The new NZCPS is yet to be signed off by the Minister of Conservation. However a number of regional authorities have already accepted the NZCPS and have, or are, implementing its principles when their own regional policies and plans come up for review.

For those campaigning locally for protection of surfbreaks, the new Policy 18 and the working papers can provide a valuable resource for writing submissions.

See document.

Documents
  • NZCPS working paper