30ththJan Jan -- 35rdthFeb Feb2014 2018 27
FIRST ON THE STREET
No No 434 635
LAKES WEEKLY BULLETIN
1 J IN O 17 SI BS D E
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Freedom camping - out of control. Queenstown people are so upset about the effects of freedom camping on their favourite recreation spots that they’re mobilising with facebook pages, media comments and petitions to Mayor Jim Boult. This is democracy in action and the engagement of local people makes it much easier for us as councillors to listen up, then find ways to apply pressure so we can make the changes we need. Lake Hayes reserve has become the face of the issue because it’s a prime recreation site ravaged by unfettered freedom camping. Children can no longer play in the previously safe creek because of its use as a toilet and picnicking on a hot evening there has become next to impossible. Local people are angry, and becoming hostile hosts. Worse, they have to foot the bill for the clean up. Freedom campers fall into largely three groups. 1. Our traditional New Zealand motorhome types, 2. tourists after an authentic New Zealand motorhome experience, and 3. tourists and itinerant workers seeking a free place to sleep for the night. Winners in the current game are those happy to trade a crowded, messy experience for a free place to sleep, and those profiting from hiring/selling campervans. Losers are local people enduring the effective loss of their reserves and motorhomers/responsible campers chasing quiet enjoyment of our country (and paying handsomely - around $450 a night for a large, self-contained camper). In 2011 ahead of the Rugby World Cup, the Freedom Camping Act was passed to provide a tool to control freedom camping. But the Act didn’t go anywhere near far enough and the ability for councils to take control of their own districts was severely curtailed. That’s why councils nationwide are struggling now to find the tools to control this problem. Locally this was discussed around the Council table last year, but no solution found because of the hindrance of the Act. We are seeking solutions now. With urgency. As announced by Mayor Boult last week, we need an immediate temporary fix for the rest of this summer as a prelude to longer-term solutions such as fixing the national law so we can fix our own by-law. Our campgrounds are generally full, so our choice is to fully turn people away from our district or to create space for them somewhere. Either way we need them out of Lake Hayes and other prime locations. In France they have aires-de-service – basically parking lots, not in prime spots, with facilities. This works. We have a couple of spaces – Lower Shotover Delta (not the existing carpark) and maybe part of 12-Mile – which could be suitably equipped, but the ratepayer will foot the bill (we can’t charge under the Act). Are those who profit from these vans willing to dig deep to help? Finally, we need a long-term fix that changes tourist expectations, critically examines the benefits of allowing camping in our community spaces and considers the issues of who pays for what. This means research beyond that already undertaken by the Responsible Campers group and, a good look at what we lose, what we gain and what trade-offs we’re willing to make.
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