Freedom camping is not going away in Auckland

Friday, 23 November 2018

OPINION: Let's be clear, freedom camping isn't going away any time soon, we need to get our heads around that. 

What's also clear is that the law of the land governing freedom camping doesn't allow Auckland Council to simply ban every freedom camper from every beautiful spot in the region and then just stick them behind buildings out of sight.

Frankly, that wouldn't make sense anyway.

Auckland is the gateway for most of the 3.4 million tourists that come to New Zealand each year and the council estimates that 320 freedom camping vehicles a day are either travelling on the region's roads or parked in public places over the summer period.

That's a fantastic boost to the economy and local businesses.

So, yes, we need strong rules to ensure that the campers don't spoil the environment and our neighbourhoods for everyone else, which is what the legislation allows.

And yes, we have all seen and heard the horror stories about people defecating and spoiling beautiful parts of the country, and that's absolutely the last thing we want in Auckland. 

But if we only open a handful of sites for freedom camping, that's what could happen.

Currently, we only have a few old bylaws from past councils that don't provide any enforcement powers, so we need to change that – and we need consistent rules across the region.

To do that means we need to provide enough places where people can freedom camp to meet demand, while also minimising the negative impacts that can frustrate local communities, and that's what we have been working on for the last year with the local boards. 

We've assessed more than 1000 car parks across the city to work out where is most suitable to achieve all those goals.

This isn't a quick process. Before council can prohibit or restrict a location we need evidence that the area needs protecting from the impacts of camping, which takes time.

Simply saying we don't want freedom campers here or there is legally not enough. 

We hope that by allowing freedom camping at more sites, overcrowding will decrease, and it will also encourage tourists to enjoy some other lesser-known areas of Auckland. 

In saying that, we are acutely aware of the need to safeguard local areas and communities where it wouldn't be suitable, which is a fair approach. 

And look, just because someone is a freedom camper, that doesn't mean that they are going to immediately start throwing rubbish on the ground, washing naked or using the bushes for toilets.

In fact, a high percentage are well behaved responsible campers and 'grey nomads' in self-contained, well provisioned camper vans. 

We need a balance, and we also need to be able to enforce the rules that we set out in the bylaw.

That's why the decision made by the council to ask the community was the right one.

We want to hear from Aucklanders during the 10-week consultation that will take place over the summer, when freedom camping is at its height. 

Above all we want to ensure that we can put as much freedom into camping as we can, while respecting the love our communities have for our places.  

Auckland councillor Linda Cooper represents the Waitākere Ward and is chairperson of the council's regulatory committee.