O'Connor Damien: Freedom Camping Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
O'Connor Damien: Freedom Camping Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
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Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour) 
: 
 It is nice to speak towards the end of this debate on the Freedom Camping Bill; hopefully I will have the final word. The last speaker Rahui Katene said that there is a problem with freedom campers. No; there is a problem with effluent disposal and there is a problem with infrastructure. It is quite bizarre that in the year of the Rugby World Cup when we are hoping to welcome tens of thousands of extra people to this country we are rushing through Parliament legislation that will cut right across what we have told those people about New Zealand and their experience in New Zealand. 
It is quite outrageous that a Government that is prepared to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on stadiums up and down this country has not been prepared to spend any money on basic toilet infrastructure for the tens of thousands of people who come here. This Government cut the Sanitary Works Subsidy Scheme in which central government assisted local government to put in place proper toilet facilities where necessary. This Government cut that scheme spent hundreds of millions on stadiums and has gone out marketing around the world saying: “Come and enjoy New Zealand. Come and enjoy our Rugby World Cup. But if you park in that particular spot you are likely to get a note after 5 days from the rental car company to your permanent address in which case you can respond.” 
The point is that Supplementary Order Paper 267 brought in by the Minister of Conservation is so complex and so bizarre—it prescribes the way that the rental car companies can charge any fine—that it makes a mockery of anything the National-ACT Government supported by Peter Dunne says about compliance costs the nanny State and regulation. This is the worst that I have seen in this Parliament. 
We have an issue. We have had an issue for quite a while. Actually it is not just people who camp at night; it is people who want to go to the toilet during the day in their travels up and down New Zealand. But this bill does not say we will look at the outcomes and the adverse effects and try to address them. It says we will just say point-blank that people shall not camp in certain places. Discretion has been given to the councils and we have had assurances that it will be only where the council identifies a problem. Well the council might say that it gets a few rubbish bins that are filled up in a certain place and it costs a bit to clear them so it will just declare that place “No Camping”. It will save the council the cost of clearing the rubbish tins. That will be sufficient for a council to make a blanket ban. That is quite bizarre in a country that has prided itself on outdoor experiences. 
Mr Assistant Speaker Roy you know full well that with regard to these things to quote Robin from Copperfields last night: “Well that is the fun of New Zealand.”—being able to go out park up and be responsible. Yes we have an issue around education and around infrastructure. For the growing number of people who come to New Zealand and go out and have less understanding of effluent disposal perhaps we need to educate them. But this bill attempts to educate New Zealanders by putting notices in the  
Gazette 
—a very widely read newspaper as colleague Mr Rick Barker said! Notices will also be put in key metropolitan newspapers. Those notices will educate the people of New Zealand as to where they cannot freedom camp. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Everyone reads them! 
Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR 
: I know they do—particularly those people out in the regions where in fact they have the camping spots next door to them! They will not have any idea. 
This prescriptive bizarre Draconian autocratic legislation will kill the image that New Zealand has around the world as a place of relaxation of freedom and of an experience that truly is unique. We have been marketing New Zealand for close to 100 years I guess and trying to encourage people to come here. This bill will cut right across people’s expectations. The one thing that will destroy New Zealand’s reputation is expectations that are not met or worse still when the reality is completely contrary to what people have been told. 
Hundreds and thousands of campervans have upgraded. They are modern and fully self-contained. Technology has meant that there is virtually no impact from them particularly if they are able to dump at proper dump stations. What will those campervan companies say to their clients? Will they say: “Come and hire our beautiful campervan but actually it is not much better than a car because you’re going to have to go to the main centres to camp or to a camping ground.”? It is ridiculous and it cuts across all our efforts for many many years. 
I have to finish by saying that it is worse than nanny State. It is legislation that is supported and developed as a knee-jerk reaction from a senior Minister in Cabinet Nick Smith. I have to say I am rather sad that the Hon Peter Dunne has supported this because he has championed the rights of outdoor users of fishermen and of trampers for many years. He knows that these people are very offended by this legislation and he should be opposing it. I hope he will because his constituency the people he has fought for will be absolutely gutted when they get a letter in the mail or are told: “Move on sonny. You are not allowed to camp here. Move on down the road.” 
These people know the outdoors. They know what to do. They probably have a shovel in their car. They probably know where to go to go to the toilet. But no the “poo police” will be knocking on the door of their tent or their campervan and saying: “Not allowed to camp here sorry. There’ll be a fine in the mail—an instant fine.” That is bizarre. 
This is a country of 4 million people and it is the size of the UK. How will people from the UK comprehend the Draconian the autocratic and the nanny State legislation we are just about to pass in this House? I think it is a serious backward step. There are better ways of dealing with this problem and making New Zealand a welcoming place for visitors and for the tens of thousands of people who will come here for the Rugby World Cup. We have rushed through this legislation and I think it is quite bizarre.