Wilkinson Kate: Freedom Camping Bill — First Reading 
Wilkinson Kate: Freedom Camping Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:673;Page:19262] 
Hon KATE WILKINSON (Minister of Conservation) 
: 
 I move  
That the Freedom Camping Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the Local Government and Environment Committee consider the Freedom Camping Bill that the committee report finally to the House on or before 1 August 2011 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions and during any evening on a day on which there has been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington region despite Standing Orders 187 189(a) and 190(1)(b) and (c). 
The purpose of this bill is to address the negative effects of freedom camping. Many visitors stopping along our roadsides at rest areas and look-outs face more than a spectacular view. Too often they also face a pile of human waste and toilet paper. This is often a “gift” from a visitor who hired a cheap campervan with no toilet and then used the rest area or look-out to camp overnight in order to avoid paying camping ground fees. We are an outdoors destination. We want tourists to continue to come here to explore and enjoy our countryside. New Zealanders do just that on their own holidays and we want to protect our reputation. Inappropriate camping and toileting does this country a disservice and we do not want this behaviour to be lodged in anyone’s memories when they get home. Freedom camping is an important part of our tourism industry and great Kiwi lifestyle but we cannot tolerate irresponsible campers spoiling our most iconic areas with human waste and litter. 
This is particularly important as we gear up for the Rugby World Cup. Roughly 85000 visitors are expected to arrive on our shores. For many of those this will be the holiday of a lifetime so we are acting rapidly to ensure that this legislation is in place by then. 
The number of freedom campers has doubled over the past decade to 110000 international visitors and more than 40000 New Zealanders. The existing system in which each of our 67 districts has its own bylaws is not working for the responsible freedom camper wanting to do the right thing or for councils wanting to protect their local environment. This bill will enable councils to determine where camping is allowed where it is restricted to campervans with self-containment and where it is prohibited. The Department of Conservation will be able to make similar rules on the reserves it manages. There will be nationally consistent signage and practical enforcement provisions. A website will be provided outlining where people can and cannot camp nationally. Camping at specific sensitive sites and depositing human waste on roadsides is already illegal but councils and the Department of Conservation have very limited options for dealing with offenders. This bill will increase the tools available to them by creating an infringement regime. This will avoid the need for councils and the Department of Conservation to take expensive court action and therefore provide a more effective deterrent to inappropriate behaviour. 
The bill will provide the same approach as that used for other relatively minor offences such as parking and traffic offences. People can be ticketed when they camp in an area in which camping is prohibited or camp in an area where camping is restricted and they breach those restrictions—for example by using a campervan with no toilet in an area restricted to self-contained campervans or by depositing waste whilst camping. The bill sets the infringement fee at $200 and I believe that this will provide a strong deterrent for potential offenders. Enforcement officers will still have the option of taking a matter to the courts if they consider that the offence warrants that action—for example a campervan emptying its sewage tank in a rest area. In that case a far higher penalty to a maximum of $10000 might be imposed. The ability to impose high fines already exists for breaches of council bylaws including camping bylaws but this bill provides a uniform regime across council land and public conservation land. It will enable local government agencies to effectively enforce their existing and future bylaws relating to camping. 
I must emphasise that this bill does not change the locations where anyone can camp. The presumption is still that freedom camping is not only allowed but encouraged as a core part of the back-country experience. The infringement system will apply only in vehicle-accessible areas near formed roads near the coast and near Great Walks. Councils and the Department of Conservation already restrict camping where it would be a problem in specific sites—for example in city car-parks—where camping could damage natural values or where there is a more suitable camping site nearby. This bill is designed to allow such decisions to be effectively enforced. In the case of public conservation land the bill will also provide a clear and transparent method for making such decisions in future taking into account the purposes for which land is held and any management plans. 
In summary this bill will provide my department and councils with another tool to protect our open spaces our tourism industry and the interests of back-country users and it will reinforce the back-country code. I commend this bill to the House.