Tasman District Council to review Freedom Camping Bylaw in time for summer

Wednesday, 29 April 2020

Vehicles in early January were packed into the Waitapu Bridge freedom camping site in Golden Bay.

The rules for freedom camping in Tasman District will be reviewed in time for next summer.

At a meeting on Tuesday via an audiovisual link, the Tasman District Council elected members agreed to adopt a Responsible Camping Strategy and requested staff review the Freedom Camping Bylaw by December 1 to implement that strategy.

They authorised unbudgeted expenditure of up to $60,000 for the review.

The move comes after a draft Responsible Camping Strategy drew 187 submissions, most supportive of its general direction. A hearing, over three days, was held in early December.

People in January washing dishes in the Takaka River. Some campers also used the river to collect drinking water, brush their teeth, wash their clothes, bathe and swim.

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Tasman District mayor Tim King says in his view, the council should do a 'quick and dirty' review of its Freedom Camping Bylaw to reflect its new strategy.

Some submitters expressed strong views about the adverse effects of freedom camping and called for the practice to be prohibited.

Ngāti Tama ki Te Waipounamu Trust wanted a ban on overnight camping at Waitapu Bridge in Golden Bay, a freedom camping hotspot. The Golden Bay Community Board called for the practice to be prohibited across the Bay, expect for the Motupipi car park site in Takaka. The Motueka Community Board did not support the provision of camping sites or facilities for vehicles that were not certified self-contained and requested an urgent review of the bylaw.

Initially on the agenda for a council meeting scheduled for March, it was proposed the bylaw review be completed by the end of October.

However, in a supplementary report for the meeting on Tuesday, staff said they did not consider the review could be completed by that date. They proposed completing a full review by September 2021 and/or investigating the issues in Golden Bay and, if necessary, amending the bylaw before the 2020-21 summer season.

Senior policy adviser Alan Bywater explained to councillors that timing was the issue. The council's legal advice was that each parcel of council-owned land needed to be assessed against the reasons in the Freedom Camping Act to restrict or prohibit the practice.

'The default position is that freedom camping is allowed on council land,' Bywater said.

Travellers love it but locals aren't quite so enamoured by the freedom camping site at Waitapu Bridge in Golden Bay. This video was first published in January 2019.

However, several elected members wanted to push on regardless including mayor Tim King.

'My view is we just do a quick and dirty review that reflects the strategy that we've already invested a lot of time and energy in and we push that out the door and if that faces a legal challenge, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.'

Some councillors wondered what the demand would be for freedom camping after the pandemic.

Councillor Dean McNamara said he did not believe the bylaw review was urgent and changes should be Government-led for a consistent approach across the country.

McNamara was also concerned about the $60,000 of unbudgeted expenditure for the review 'at a time where we just don't have money to spend'.

Councillor Christeen Mackenzie said she liked to think that Covid-19 'may provide the impetus for a system change around the way New Zealand thinks about tourism'.

But other elected members wanted the council to move on the matter.

Hearing panel member, councillor Anne Turley said the panel recommended the bylaw review be completed in time for any changes to implemented before the 2020-21 season.

Fellow hearing panel member, councillor Kit Maling said he did not believe the council could investigate Golden Bay only for next summer.

'I don't think that would be fair on Motueka because there are significant issues in Motueka and Golden Bay.'

Maling also wanted central Government lobbied on the issue of freedom camping.

Panel chairman, deputy mayor Stuart Bryant moved a resolution to review the whole district by December 1, saying he believed there would still be people who wanted to go freedom camping.