Driving towards a Sustainable Future

MEDIA RELEASE

04 JULY 2011

RESPONSIBLE FREEDOM CAMPING ENCOURAGED AT SELECT COMMITTEE

The New Zealand Motor Caravan Association Inc (NZMCA) was pleased to present their support to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee on the Freedom Camping Bill this morning.

The Bill aims to prevent and punish reckless campers who deface New Zealand’s clean, green countryside by irresponsible disposal of human waste and litter. The Bill also protects access to an area and allows local authorities and the Department of Conservation (DOC) to designate areas where you can and can’t freedom camp.

“We appreciate that there is urgency to get this legislation passed before we host freedom campers from overseas to New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup 2011. But we wanted to make sure that the voices of the thousands of kiwis who freedom camp responsibly was heard at Select Committee today”, said NZMCA President Bruce Stanger.

Mr Stanger said, “We have 42,000 members around New Zealand; we have over 13,000 private vehicles that meet the New Zealand Standard for certified self-containment vehicles. These are kiwis and vehicles who freedom camp responsibly and we want to make sure the Freedom Camping Bill recognises the high standard that they meet”.

The NZMCA has three main recommendations regarding the Freedom Camping Bill:

The Bill needs to promote and encourage responsible freedom camping;

The Bill needs to recognise and acknowledge New Zealand’s Standard, for vehicle self containment NZS 5465:2001, and all vehicles certified as self contained under this Standard;

There needs to be ‘tightening’ of the definitions in the Bill to ensure the local authorities are nationally consistent when drafting bylaws to ensure responsible freedom camping.

The best way to incentivise campers to get their caravans and motor homes into a responsible state that will reduce waste and irresponsible disposal is to statutorily recognise the certificate of self containment standard.

“We were pleased to hear the Chair of the Local Government and Environment Select Committee, Chris Auchinvole, acknowledge the high standard of our submission and to seriously take on board our recommendations including the recognition of the self containment standard,” said Mr Stanger.

The NZMCA looks forward to reading the Select Committee’s report to Parliament on the Freedom Camping Bill and hopefully seeing many of our recommendations and concerns addressed.

“Our motto at the NZMCA is to take only photos and leave only tyre marks when freedom camping. That is what responsible freedom camping is all about and we want the Freedom Camping Bill to recognise that”, said Mr Stanger.

You can find a copy of the NZMCA’s submission to Select Committee on their website at www.nzmca.org.nz/submissions

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