Freedom Camping Bill

First Reading
Te Ururoa Flavell, MP for Waiariki

Tēnā koe, Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. Ngā mihi nui ki a koe i tēnei ahiahi, otirā, ki a tātou o te Whare. Kua tū ake au ki te kōrero mō tēnei o ngā pire, Freedom Camping Bill. E ai ki tāku e mōhio nei, ko tōna tikanga he whakarite tikanga, he whakarite whāinga, ture rānei mō te hunga noho puni nei i Aotearoa. Kei te tautoko te Pāti Māori i tēnei o ngā pire i tōna pānuitanga tuatahi nei. Nā, e ai ki tā mātou, ēhara i te mea ko te iwi Māori tētahi hunga whai i tēnei momo noho. Ko te nuinga o te wā, ko te Ao Māori ka haere ki roto i te kāinga o tētahi o ngā whanaunga, ehara i te mea nō te mataku ki te noho i raro i ngā whetū, kāo, ehara tērā i te raruraru ēngari, he momo noho tēnei e kitea ana, mai i te hunga i hara mai ai i tāwāhi ki taku mōhio, nō whenua kē, ka hara mai ki Aotearoa nei pēnei i ētahi o ngā kaikōrero i te ahiahi nei, hara mai ki te mātakitaki, ki te āta titiro ki te ātaahua o Aotearoa whānui nui. I roto i a au o Te Waiariki, me kī, mai i Ngā Kurī-a-Whārei ki Tihirau, mai i Maketū ki Tongariro ka eke mai te hunga tūruhi, te hunga hara mai i tāwāhi, i runga i ngā waka e kōrerohia ake nei, ki te noho puni nei. Nō reira, kei te mārama au ki te tikanga o tēnei pire me te tautoko ake i tōna whāinga.

I te tau kua hipa i te Māehe, ko taku hoa a Rahui Katene, nāna tonu tētahi kōrero ā-nūpepa nei i tuku ki te ao, me te whakamārama ake mō te noho a tētahi hunga kainoho puni nei i Kaikōura; me tana āki tonu ki tērā hunga kia kaha rātou ki te tiaki i te taiao, ka mutu, ki te āta whakatikatika i muri mai i a rātau, kia kaua e waiho wā rātau para, wā rātau tūtae ki te taha o te rori, ki te wāhi i noho ai rātou. E ai ki ngā kōrero i tērā wā mai i a Rahui, i noho nei tēnei momo hunga ki runga i tētahi pā tawhito, pā tūwatawata, ko Ngā Niho Pā tērā. Kai Kaikōura tēnei o ngā kāinga engari ko te mate kē, ko ngā para, ko ngā tūtae i waihotia ake ki tērā o ngā pā tawhito. Koinei te riri o taku hoa a Rahui, koinei tāna i tuku ai i tētahi kōrero i te nūpēpa ki te whakahē i tērā momo noho.

Kei te mōhio tātou, nā runga i te āhuatanga o ngā kōrero o te Whare Pāremata i te rā nei, ehara i te mea kō tēnei kaupapa, te freedom camping he kaupapa hou, e hia kē nei ngā tau kua pēnei tonu te noho a te hunga hara mai tūruhi nei, haere i te whenua, ā, ka noho i te taha o te rori nā te toringa mai o te rā rānei, nā te kore waka rānei, kua tū te tēneti, kua noho i te ngahere, i te taha o te rori rānei. Nō reira, ehara i te mea nō nāia tonu nei tēnei momo noho. Engari, kei te whakarongo ake ki te kōrero a te mema o te Kākāriki me tana kī mai, ko tērā pea ko te aronga o tēnei pire, e hāngai tonu ana ki ngā mea e hara mai ana i runga i ngā whēne, ngā waka heri tāngata nei, ngā vans nei. Koinei pea tōna aronga. Ko te mate kē, mō tēnei wā tonu nei, kei te mōhio tonu tātou ka ekengia a Aotearoa e te hunga hara mai ai ki te mātakitaki i te kapu whutupōro o te ao ā kō ake nei. Tērā pea ka ekengia a Aotearoa e te tini, e te mano, e ngā waka e hia kē nei, ā, kāore e kore ka whai i tērā momo noho, arā, ko te noho puni nei.

Pēnei i ētahi atu o te Whare i te ahiahi nei, ko te take nui, ko te waiho ake i te para, te tūtae i te taha o te rori. Ka pātaia te pātai, ā, tēnā, ka taea e tātou te whakariterite i ngā whare paku, i ngā ipu para, me kī, kia taea e rātou te whakatikatika i muri mai i a rātou? Koinā te pātai nui. Tērā pea ka raruraru tātou ki reira. Ehara i te mea kei a tātou ngā rawa ki te whakatika i ētahi wāhi hei kohikohi i ngā para, ka mutu, ka pērā anō hoki ki te āhuatanga o te tūtae. Nō reira, ahakoa kei te tautoko ake i tēnei pire, kei te pātai te pātai mō ngā rawa, mō ngā mea hai whakatutuki i te moemoeā, kia noho pai, kia noho ātaahua a Aotearoa nei.

I roto i tēnei pire, ko te mana o ngā kaunihera ki te whakarite, i ētahi kaunihera ā-rohe tāku e kōrero nei, kia taea e rātou te whakatika i ō rātou ake ture mō rātou ake, mō tērā rohe, mō tēnā takiwā, mō tērā rohe, mō tēnā takiwā. Ka pērā anō hoki te taha ki Te Papa Atawhai, kia taea ai e ia te whakarite tikanga mō tēnā rohe, mō tēnā takiwā. Nō reira, he pai tonu tērā, kia taea ai e rātou te whakarite i tērā, ka mutu, mēnā ka raru tētahi, ka kore e whai i te ture o tēnā takiwā, o tērā takiwā, ā, ka pēnei i ētahi ka whainahia, mai i te $200, neke atu ki te $10, 000

Nō reira, ko tāku tino kaupapa, i tua atu o te take mō ngā ipu para me ngā whare paku hei āwhina, hei wāhi tuku i ngā para, ko tērā e pā ana ki te wāhi o te Ao Māori ki roto i ngā whiriwhiringa o ngā kaunihera. I tēnei wā tonu nei, i raro i te Local Government Bill o te tau 2002, kei reira tētahi wāhanga mō te kōrero, mō te whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro ki te tangata whenua, ki te mana whenua rānei. Ko te mate kē, ehara i te mea he tino pakari mai tērā whāinga o te ture. Ko tā mātou e pīrangi nei, kua whakapakari ake tērā wāhi, arā, kia whai wāhi te Ao Māori i roto i ngā kōrerorero i te taha o te kaunihera ā-rohe, ka mutu, i te taha o ngā kāwanatanga ā-rohe—me mahi i te taha o te mana whenua. Koinā te tino pūtake i te mea, i ētahi wā nō te Ao Māori ērā whenua, ka mutu, me whai wāhi rātou ki te kōrero ki ngā iwi, ka mutu, ki te whakamana i te whāinga o tēnei pire. Ko te mea pai e kitea nei i roto o tēnei pire, ka waiho ake ki tēnā rohe, ki tēna rohe kia whakatika i a ia anō me ōna ake ture e pā ana ki a ia engari, pēnei i tāku e kōrero nei, ko te īnoi atu kia whai wāhi te Ao Māori, te taha ki te mana whenua, te tangata whenua i roto i ngā whiriwhiringa.

Ehara i te mea, he nui ngā kōrero i tua atu o tērā Hoi anō, me pēnei rawa te kōrero, e kōrerohia ana i roto i ngā kōrero o te Ao māori, ko te kōrero mō Ranginui e tū nei, mō Papatūānuku, ko tā mātau o te Ao Māori, ko tōna tāhūhū ko te tiaki i te āhuatanga o te taiao, ko Papatūānuku e takoto nei. Nō reira, kei te tino āro atu mātou ki te tino pūtake o tēnei pire. He pai tōna tirohanga, he pai tōna kaupapa, he pai tōna tikanga. Koinei mātou e tautoko nei i tēnei pire engari, ka titiro ake ā ngā rā kei mua i te aroaro, kia kitea mai ai ko te wāhi ki te Ao Māori i roto i ngā whakawhitiwhitinga whakaaro ka puta ki te taha o ngā kaunihera ā-rohe, kaunihera ā-kawanatanga nei. Nō reira, ko ēnei ētahi paku whakaaro ake hei tāpiri atu ki ētahi o ngā kōrero i te ahiahi nei. Huri noa i tō tātou Whare, kia ora tātou.

Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. My huge appreciation to you, and indeed to us of the House, this afternoon. I rise to address the Freedom Camping Bill. As I understand it, the purpose of this bill is to find remedies that will deal with issues caused by freedom campers in New Zealand. The Māori Party supports this bill at its first reading. However, I need to point out that Māori, by tradition, are not freedom campers. At most times they stay in the home of a relative—not because they fear sleeping under the stars; not at all, that is not where the problem is. To my understanding, this kind of lifestyle has come about through campers from other countries coming to see the beauty of New Zealand. Hordes of tourists, and those from overseas in vehicles referred to here as campervans, have a strong presence in my electorate of Te Waiariki, which stretches from the Dogs of Whārei across to Tihirau, and from Maketū inland to Mount Tongariro. So I have a clear understanding of what this bill is about, and support what it is intended to do.

In March last year, my colleague Rahui Katene made a widely reported statement in the press about the need for freedom campers in Kaikōura to take more care when deciding where and where not to dispose of their food and body wastes; she urged that they should take greater care of the environment, and ensure that they clean up before they leave and not leave their rubbish and body wastes on the side of the road or where they had parked. According to reports at the time, freedom campers were using Ngā Niho Pā, a traditional pā site in Kaikōura, as a place to defecate. That so infuriated my colleague that it prompted her to go to the press to voice her opposition to that form of camping.

Because of what has been said in the House today, we know that freedom camping is not a new phenomenon. It has been around for a long, long time. People who have come from overseas and travelled the land have parked up or pitched a tent in the bush or by the roadside at sunset. But I take on board the message from the member of the Green Party in his address to us, that the focus of this bill is particularly on campers in these vans. This perhaps is its focus. But the problem is that New Zealand is about to be inundated by hordes of people coming to watch the Rugby World Cup. Without a doubt, a large number of those people will resort to campervans to get about.

As some in the House have said, the major issue is that there are not the facilities to dispose of human waste and litter left behind on the roadside. The question then is whether we can provide toilets and rubbish containers so people can leave the place nice and tidy after them. That is the big question. It could be our downfall. There are not the facilities to dispose of human waste and litter. So while we support this bill, we question that there are the resources and tools to fulfil the dream that New Zealand should remain a beautiful and attractive country.

Local authorities will have the power through this bill to regulate, manage, and control human waste and litter for this or that region or district. So that is good. The bill allows each local authority to set by-laws to suit its region or district. The bill allows for fees and fines to be set from $200 right through to $10,000.

Apart from rubbish bins and toilets to help with the removal of litter and human waste, the real issue I have relates to the participation of Māoridom in consultations with councils. Currently there is a provision in the Local Government Act 2002 to consult with tangata or mana whenua. The problem is that that part of the Act is not adhered to strongly. We want it enforced more firmly. We want local councils and local authorities to engage more strongly in their consultations with local Māori, particularly when it comes to enacting the intention of this bill. A positive feature seen so far about this bill is its flexibility. It enables a local authority to regulate according to its situation, but, as I said earlier, participation of local Māori in the consultation process is a must.

There is not much more to add. Taking care of the environment is an essential need to take care of Earth Mother lying here, and Sky Father standing before us. We support the real intention of this bill and its good insight, philosophy, and meaning. The Māori Party looks forward to seeing a specific consultation provision for iwi, in the bill. These, then, are but some small considerations to add to the speeches this afternoon. Thank you to us throughout our House.

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