Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. It's great to be able to speak on the Freedom Camping (Infringement Offences and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. I have been asked to get as many puns as possible into this debate but I will refrain because we all know it's wrong to take a dump on mother Nature and we all agree on that. We are on the same page. So I will refrain from further juvenile references.This bill amends the Freedom Camping Act 2011 to introduce stricter requirements around where freedom camping can take place. I always think of those signs I used to see as a kid where you'd travel around and they'd have a picture with No dumping" written on it and they would say it quite clearly but I'm pretty sure they were referring to rubbish. But the same thing goes. You know New Zealand has got a beautiful environment. It's a gem. We should really respect Papatūānuku the way that she deserves to be.I think the Minister responsible in this area has not minced his words one iota in the past when being asked publicly about his position regarding how our tourists who come to New Zealand treat the natural environment. So I think that while we're pleased that the National Party endorses the general direction of where we're heading on this issue we still will in fact oppose this bill because we intend to introduce our own legislation and to do that in a way that improves the sustainability and cracks down on freedom camping in those areas particularly where we know that they have been poorly behaved. There are certain hot spots across New Zealand where we know that there is loo paper and general rubbish associated with the known dumping turning up again and again and again.So we know that it annoys the local people. We know that it degrades our natural environment and furthermore it's not necessarily the most productive way we can use New Zealand's assets as a tourist destination. I think that you know one of the things we've seen through COVID is that while we have had to take a reset and had to shut our borders this also provides a golden opportunity to try and do things better than what we've done before.So what we've done already the legislation that the Government will introduce will build on the Government's earlier work to make freedom camping more sustainable. Some of that earlier work is establishing the Responsible Camping Working Group. I think there was an additional $25 million in 2008 to specifically identify more sustainable ways. As part of that too we've seen the introduction of a data technology pilot that has provided real-time information on the capacity of selected campsites to see where those strains in the existing system are and how we can mitigate risks in terms of camping grounds not having sufficient capacity to take tourists who are coming and hiring a campervan or a Jucy rental or one of those vans you see travelling around. Also providing free access to self-contained vehicles and saving users around $70 each to allow people to see what's required for certification. We know that's an important factor if our vehicles are equipped to be self-contained.But in addition to this there's also been commissioning of research and that research is to better understand what we're actually dealing with here. The profile the value of visitors both from domestic tourism and potential international tourists who go freedom camping throughout the summer. So we want to know exactly the profile we're looking at in order to modify our system to best cope and to change to dissuade those who are unable to treat the environment with the respect that it deserves.This member does not have the appropriate bill and therefore we will not be supporting it further. It proposes measures that won't address the real nub of the problem and it would give enforcement officers powers to inspect vehicles. We think more of a long-term approach that maximises tourist value in New Zealand is a far more beneficial way of addressing these issues. Therefore I do not commend this bill to the House."