Easy Targets: The Project NZ and the Low Hanging Fruit

**[Video Title] Can You Legally Take Fruit from Public Trees? Explained by Newshub**

**[Video Description]**
Are you wondering if it’s okay to help yourself to the abundant fruit growing on public trees amid soaring food prices? In this engaging video, Newshub explores the legalities and etiquette surrounding fruit harvesting from trees. Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of tree-grown fruit and when it’s considered fair game to indulge in natural abundance.

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Keywords: 3 News, 3News, Corbett, Hub, Jeremy, Jesse, Kanoa, Lloyd, Mulligan, NZ, New, News, Newshub, Now, Project, TV, TV3, The, Three, ThreeNow, Video, Watch, Zealand, Lemons, law, Aotearoa, Fruit, neighbours

*Original Transcript:*
Hi, I’m Jimmy, and this is my story. I got up one morning, walked outside with Matilda, and someone’s taking my lemons. No, she wasn’t wearing a balaclava. I got up one morning, walked outside with Matilda, and someone’s taking my lemons. That’s exactly what she looked like. How did you do that?

Anyway, the branch is on the other side of the fence, so is the fruit still mine or is it fair game? Uh, no, it’s not. You still own the fruit if you own the tree; you own everything that’s on the tree. Okay, so if the lemons fall from the tree onto the ground on public land, um, they’re fair game for anybody to pick up. Okay, so what if, say, I’ve got a bag of fruit, a thought over my shoulder, one falls out, and they pick it up? Are they allowed to keep it? No, because it’s fallen out from your bag of lemons. Okay, what about this? She breaks into my house, ties me up, eats the lemons in front of me, and is laughing at me. What about that? That’s most definitely illegal. I knew it. So if your neighbor does want your lemons, what should they do? They go and talk to the neighbor first before they touch the neighbor’s tree. [Applause] And I’m glad we’ve got this in black and white now because I feel very strongly about it. If you own the tree, he said, you own everything on the tree, so stay away. Everyone, come off it. One, you don’t own the tree. Bloom and Papatuanuku does because she grew out of her soil. So thank you very much, and two, you don’t know. Like, it’s pure coincidence that he saw his neighbor taking those lemons. If he hadn’t walked outside, he’d be none the wiser. She’d be having a lovely citrusy little honey drink in the morning. That’s not a problem. I can use the loophole. I’m going to take a little stick with me and hit it so that it falls out of the tree. You guys have been way too black and white about this. Actually, there’s a real grey area in this, in my view, and I don’t think that we should criminalize people who take lemons. Um, we should treat them, particularly people who have got them for personal use, right? And we should decriminalize that. Dealers, though, if they take a lot, yes, I still want that to be a criminal offense, but ultimately, I believe it should be treated as a health issue by the government. Everyone should be able to grow one tree for their own use, and the rest of the neighborhood should enjoy the lemons. Stay here on three for pedigree on citrus.

**Sources:**

– [3 News](https://www.3news.co.nz/)
– [Newshub Now Newsletter](http://bit.ly/NewshubNow)
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– [Newshub TikTok](http://bit.ly/NewshubTikTok)
– [Licensing Footage](https://www.discoverycorporate.co.nz/home/contact-us/commercial-footage-request.html)

Food prices are soaring but you may have noticed there are plenty of trees around, laden with free fruit ready to go.

But when is it okay to help yourself to the harvest? Let’s find out. ➡️ SUBSCRIBE: https://bit.ly/NewshubYouTube

You’re joining us on the official YouTube channel for Discovery NZ’s Newshub. Here you will find livestreams and news videos from our award-winning team of journalists working across our bulletins and shows – The Project NZ, AM, Newshub Nation, and The Hui.

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