National action demanded

ALICE COWDREY finds out what solutions are being looked at to address the problem.

Councils and tourism organisations say a national approach is needed to deal with problems generated by freedom campers.

Some councils are forking out thousands of dollars to enforce bylaws to manage the illegal behaviour of some campers.

However, for a freedom camping bylaw to be formed, there needs to be a national change in legislation.

Tasman Mayor Richard Kempthorne says such a bylaw needs to be adopted across councils so the same rules apply everywhere, but talks on the matter by councillors are not due to take place in the near future.

In the meantime, some authorities have already sorted out their own solutions.

The Gisborne District Council has a "freedom camping season", which opens in September and closes after Easter.

The season is open to self-contained campers who buy cheap permits, allowing them to stay for up to 28 nights in the region. They are also given rubbish bags, which are collected from camp sites.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council prohibits freedom camping in town centres and residential areas, and issues parking tickets to offenders. Vans without facilities are prohibited from camping.

In Tasman district, contractors focus on freedom camping "hot spots" and mainly educate campers. The contract is worth $4000 annually and has been looked after by Control Service Nelson for eight years.

In Nelson, a security firm monitors the Nelson City Council's freedom camping policy.

The camping enforcement staff for both councils have no power to fine campers. Their main role is to move them on and educate them.

A bylaw was considered by Tasman last year, but councillors took the advice of the council's regulatory manager, Jean Hodson, and turned it down because it would be too hard to police.

In a report on the matter, Ms Hodson says freedom camping hotspots are not easily definable, and more staff to issue infringement notices would be needed.

"Another significant issue is the problem with following up on the infringement notices once they are issued. We would have difficulty tracing the drivers of rental vans, as the rental companies take no responsibility for tickets and may well be giving us an overseas address to follow up."

The Transport Act does not allow councils to make rental companies responsible for unpaid parking tickets.

New Zealand Motor Home Association Nelson Tasman area committee member Neville Baldwin says freedom campers should not all be "tarred with the same brush".

The problem lies with vans that do not have facilities, he says.

Council contractors who police freedom campers should give them parking tickets, and councils need powers to bill rental companies for the fines, he says.

The association has 40,000 members with 20,000 campervans, who spend $80 million a year travelling New Zealand, he says.

Mr Baldwin says an issue in Nelson is that there are no city-owned wastewater dump sites. The association has offered $1000 to help pay for one, but the offer has not been taken up.

He believes the lack of dump sites will be a problem next year during the Rugby World Cup.

The man behind a national initiative set up to address issues associated with freedom camping, Geoff Ensor, says the major sporting event will be an opportunity to circulate information about freedom camping.

The official World Cup website has a link to the Camping Our Way website, which was set up by the New Zealand Freedom Camping Forum, established by the Tourism Industry Association.

The website has information and links to all New Zealand councils' freedom camping policies.

Mr Ensor says the past summer has been notable for the number of concerned communities contacting the association about poorly managed freedom camping.

"It is clear we need to take our communication efforts to another level, and at our next forum meeting in mid-April we will be focused on that.

"Actions are yet to be determined, but there is a real will to make a real difference," Mr Ensor says.

Some campervan hire companies are now moving away from vans without toilets, due to the pressure on the sector to provide the necessary facilities, he says.

One person who has an insight into the freedom camping issue is Margaret Holding. She writes the South Island edition of the Camping New Zealand Guide and travels to every single campground and site to write an independent review.

She believes there needs to be a national approach to solve the problems, which she says are mainly caused by tourists in vans without facilities.

"It's ruining the countryside. I find it unbelievable that it's got to the stage it's at. I know we need the tourist dollar, but not to the detriment of a clean country.

"They don't spend the tourist dollars – not on food. They will live off rice with gravy for days on end."

Mrs Holding fears New Zealand's clean, green image may be lost if something isn't done soon.

"It has to be made law right throughout New Zealand that's it's illegal to camp in any area unless you are self-contained."

SHAMING THE MESSY ONES

Some pretty extreme tactics have been used by Tahuna Beach Holiday Park manager Ann Cumpstone to deter messy freedom campers.

She has taken photos of campers urinating and defecating in the bushes near the Tahunanui BMX track, before sticking the pictures on the windows of illegally parked vehicle.

"Last year we were catching people at the BMX carpark pooing and weeing, and that's when I get mad at them. I take photos of them and embarrass them. I would come back and print them out and stick them on their windows."

The problem pretty much vanished this summer after the Nelson City Council erected "No camping" signs in the area before Christmas, she says. "It's been brilliant – the signs have worked for us."

She says the community wouldn't mind tourists coming in if there were more facilities for them to use.

"Not everyone wants to stay at a holiday park. It's not everyone's cup of tea. I am a freedom camper myself, and I can totally understand that.

"I want people to come (and stay at the campground) because they want to come, not because they have to."

If the city had more facilities like public toilets, freedom campers would not bother people, as they would be still spending money, she says. "Whether it's just petrol and groceries, it's still something."

- © Fairfax NZ News