Proposed freedom camping changes risk Kiwis losing 'basic rights' - Queenstown Mayor

April 20, 2021

Jim Boult says strickter legislation shouldn’t take away access to the environment for locals.

The launch of the trans-Tasman travel bubble was not only a cause for celebration for long-separated friends and families but also the struggling tourism sector. 

Now as New Zealand take these first few tentative steps of quarantine free travel with Australia, the industry is being asked what they want the future of New Zealand tourism to look like. 

The Ministry for Business Innovation and Enterprise is opening up for public consultation across the South Island on its proposed change to freedom camping. 

In 2019, an estimated 245,000 freedom campers passed through the country, of which around 154,000 were international visitors. 

Queenstown Lakes Mayor Jim Boult says stricter legislation shouldn’t take away access to the environment for locals.

Tasman, Queenstown Lakes and Christchurch were the most popular spots, with over 120,000 freedom campers visiting each place that year. 

It is aimed to improve behaviour and reduce the damage to freedom camping, where related visitors park up in areas not designated for camping and often without facilities. 

By clipping the wings of freedom campers, Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Jim Boult warns changes to legislation could risk punishing locals too. 

“You know. Mum, Dad, the kids and a tent. How do we get the balance right in ensuring that we’re not taking away one of the basic rights of Kiwis.”

The district brought in their own set of freedom camper bylaws in 2016 after locals were left to clean up the mess some freedom campers left in their wake. 

“The problem, from our point of view, is folks flying into New Zealand and buying a secondhand station wagon in Auckland. Putting a portaloo on the back and saying it’s got onboard facilities,” he told Breakfast. 

“The reality is, they don’t get used and then we have this problem of people’s human waste essentially.” 

There are four main proposals, the first two of which are alternatives to the current rules. 

All vehicle-based camping would be restricted to certified self-contained vehicles only or they would be required to stay in designated sites with facilities if their vehicle isn’t certified. 

Surfers have enjoyed the tradition which allows them to freedom camp at the Meatworks break.

However, freedom camping on public conservation land and regional parks would be excluded from this change. 

The other proposals call for stronger powers to enforce regulations including tougher penalties like fines and confiscations of vehicles or otherwise strengthening the current standard for self-contained vehicles to ensure toilets are permanently plumbed in rather than portable. 

New Zealand’s Motor Caravan Association is in favour of the second proposal, allowing for councils to cater for freedom campers that aren’t self-contained. 

“This year has been a pretty good example, we’ve had 12 months without international visitors but we’ve had a huge growth in New Zealanders going out and doing this,” says CEO Bruce Lochore. 

Some councils around the country are actively wanting to cater to freedom campers, happy to provide onsite facilities for those who don’t have sustainable ones onboard, he says.

Lochore says the second proposal would create opportunities for councils and visitors to work alongside each other. 

Feedback on the proposed change to Freedom Camping laws is open until 16 May , with consultations in the community already underway. 

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