Free public access to authoritative cadastre of NZ

We’ve received a contribution about restricted public access to New Zealand’s cadastral system. It’s is included below, unedited.

Free, public access to the authoritative cadastre of New Zealand has finally been thwarted by the close-down (in February 2009) of the few remaining public access points for viewing it.

There is only one authoritative national cadastre. The cadastre underpins, well, everything … and in a word … fundamental ‘rights’. Meshblocks hang on it, jurisdiction boundaries are framed by it, property boundaries of course (!). But it also provides a rich tapestry of the extent of past land use and settlment … it contributes much to our records, and culture and heritage. People have reasons to view the cadastre for private research and study, or to participate in democratic process.

The authoritative cadastre (the only one to trust) is also the spatial index to over a million survey records (official survey plan images). The publicly accessible cadastre (until Feb this year) enabled any citizen to browse the authoritative cadastre … exactly the same version that land professionals transact with … which makes it the only view to trust, and to be confident that if what you’re looking for isn’t there, then it doesn’t exist … it’s not in the official public register.

Why are citizens now denied direct viewing? Why are citizens being encouraged to access outdated, incomplete ‘copies’ (none are exact copies) of the official national cadastre?

Restore simple access to the real thing … so we’re all ‘singing from the same songbook’. The public needs to participate with the original, indefeasible view of the cadastre of New Zealand.