Smith StuartSTUART SMITH (National—Kaikōura): Oh thank you Madam Speaker. It seems a very long time since I've been in the House I actually—Anna Lorck: Oh where've you been?STUART SMITH: I had the last week of the sitting block in Australia actually looking at renewable gas. I had on that occasion to go to two sewage treatment plants one just south of Melbourne which handles half of the sewage for Melbourne and one in a place called Logan City just out of Brisbane. So it seems ironic that we're talking about sewage in a way in my first speech back which as I said it seems a very long time ago since I was here.But I want to actually approach the logic as a very good member—Ingrid Leary—just mentioned who just took her seat for this problem and how we approach it. And I want to tell you a little story about my experience with a constituent in Kiwa Road in Kaikōura where there's a wonderful beach for surfing there now after the earthquake had lifted up the coastline there. All of a sudden they've got extra surfing beaches that they didn't have in the past. A family living right on that beach—across the road is the beach and a lot of freedom campers use that site. They have young children—well not that young but they're at the end of their primary school years and they're quite good surfers. Getting across that road is fine but then across to the beach where all the freedom campers are is really a hopscotch through human waste and it is appalling.The logic that I'm coming to is that most of those campervans have contained toilets—plumbed-in toilets—and people just don't use them. And they don't use them often because they have to pay a fee to get the toilet cleaned if they've used it—they don't if they don't use it. I know it's crazy but that's what happens. Humans do that. It's outrageous what's happened there. It took us a long time to try and get that dealt with. But that's happening all up and down the country. People do those sorts of things.There's been some very good initiatives from KiwiCamp in Marlborough in my electorate actually where it started where they've put in camping grounds where people buy a token they get into the camp—they have to pay to get in—toilets are free but if you want a shower you have to pay with a token; if you want hot water to wash your dishes or do laundry you have to pay. The rationale for free toilets: quite simply if you have to pay they won't use them. Though they have no choice to get a hot shower but to pay for it but if they have to pay for the toilet they simply won't. It's just outrageous that people treat things that way. But not everybody's a reasonable person. And I think that's the thing we have to remember.I didn't actually sit on the Economic Development Science and Innovation Committee. I am on the select committee now but I wasn't there to hear the evidence of the submitters unfortunately. But I understand everyone's got the right outcome in mind it's how we're going to get there that's the issue.These chemical toilets that were talked about before—the porta-potties I think it was called—they also work and will work well. The issue is behaviour; it's not the hardware as has been mentioned. I think absolutely campervans should have a toilet of some description in it. But to set up the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board as an entity to police this is just taking a really bureaucratic approach to a problem that is really unnecessary. It's far better just to prosecute people that behave badly. That is the issue and it's been the issue all along with this freedom camping.Freedom camping's fantastic for people to get around New Zealand. It started out very well it's grown so quickly and the reputation has grown around the world. Trying to get Kiwa Road identified—as are many other places which have problems with freedom campers—as somewhere that you're not allowed to go without an installed toilet in your vehicle is a long process. It takes a long time it's difficult to deal with and then even when you get there they ignore it. Fortunately there is now a KiwiCamp in Kaikōura that people can go to if they choose to and a hot shower draws people in. So I think there are other solutions than this bureaucratic one that we have.It's a great pity that after all of the people gave their evidence—took their time out of their day to come and give evidence to the select committee—the select committee reported back without any recommendation. I apologise to those submitters because I think that's a great pity because their opinions are valued and I think that's something that was not done lightly but it was done for a good reason.I think the three things that were mentioned before by my colleague who just spoke earlier that we don't think that this is the right thing to regulate the hardware we don't think that's the right way to do it we don't think the plumbers drainlayers and gasfitters—I got that in the wrong order but it won't matter—are the right entity to police this. All we need to do is police bad behaviour because we will still get it anyway. That's what has to be done quite vigorously to stop this sort of behaviour ruining our beautiful places that we have in New Zealand. I have been to Central Otago I didn't know it was in region six but as it turns out it was a lovely area. I didn't freedom camp there though but I did freedom camp going to Bathurst to the great race a while ago. If you want to hear about that I could give you 10 minutes on it. Anyway with that I will end it there. But we oppose it in this form. This is not the right way. This is a sledgehammer to crack a nut and certainly unnecessary. Thank you.