Dyson Ruth: Freedom Camping Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Dyson Ruth: Freedom Camping Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
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Hon RUTH DYSON (Labour—Port Hills) 
: 
 I am pleased to speak in this final stage the third reading of the Freedom Camping Bill—a completely inappropriately named bill sadly. I want to acknowledge the work of the Local Government and Environment Committee and I agree with the member who has just resumed her seat Louise Upston and her point. The select committee did work very hard together to try to resolve the concerns we had about the bill. Unfortunately despite our best efforts that was not successful. 
Everybody on the select committee and I am sure everyone in this House agrees that there is a problem when people litter and pollute our beautiful environment. The old National the traditional National would have said in the past “There is a problem. What’s a practical common-sense way of fixing it?”. In fact the Hon Peter Dunne may in the past have been inclined towards that approach as well. But instead we hear National saying “We have a problem and oops we have the Rugby World Cup coming. Let’s bring in Draconian legislation that gives local authorities and the Department of Conservation huge powers that really undermine the whole image we want to portray internationally at any time but particularly leading into the Rugby World Cup.” So this is exactly the wrong time to be using this sledgehammer to resolve the problem. 
We could have phased out the sort of campervans that cause the problem. We could have reinstated Government financial support for local authorities to install more toilet facilities where there are problems around the country. Instead we have this huge power being given to local authorities so that they can say that massive parts of their district are not allowed to be used for freedom camping and very significant fines—not just for littering but for dumping of waste and actually for freedom camping itself—can be given. 
It is to my regret that despite the best of efforts across all four parties represented on the select committee we were not able to get a resolution to this problem. We are now giving the wrong message from our Parliament about how we would like visitors to come to our country and enjoy and cherish our beautiful outdoors. Supplementary Order Papers 271 272 and 273 proposed by Phil Twyford would have done that but unfortunately National has maintained a very rigorous approach to Supplementary Order Papers from Labour and has just said “It is Labour; we will vote against it.” I think that was foolish particularly when we were looking at legislation where we agreed there was a problem and when we tried very hard at the select committee to get a good resolution. The officials worked extremely hard and I know they understood the tensions that arose between our desire to send a strong message about wanting our clean environment to remain so and our desire to not punish or even give the wrong message to people who have enjoyed freedom camping as part of our New Zealand culture. That is what we are doing with this legislation and I regret that we are progressing in this manner.