Time to find a cure for these growing pains

The first van-load said they were just visiting mates down the road; the second, that the backpackers round the corner was full; the third simply pegged out their drying clothes on the berm and continued to get dressed in our driveway.

Yup, we’ve had an outbreak of freedom campers.

They’re often a colourful bunch – and, truth be told, I’ve been them too in the not too dim and distant past and the lingering waft of noodles carries with it a pleasant nostalgia.

But, heck, these wonderful wanderers wind us all up as well.

Trouble is, New Zealand is expanding in all directions and we’re getting a little testy about our elbow-room.

Just this week, Stats NZ published its population prediction that we will top 5 million some time later this year or early next. Its accompanying line graph, which had wormed its way slowly from 1m to 2m between 1908 and 1952 and then sauntered along to 4m in 2003, has reared cobra-like since 2010.

Now, no-one’s saying that something’s got to give. That we’re heading for some Malthusian calamity some time soon after the next election. But more people, more visitors, more vehicles – well, it’s all got to be accommodated.

Which brings us back to those freedom campers. This week, on page 8, we’ve a story about tourists faking ‘‘self-contained’’ stickers for their toilet-less campervans so they can soil some of the country’s most-loved destinations. Grrr, we all say. Then in Business, there’s allegations of tourists being palmed off with unsafe rental vehicles. Nooo, think of the negative comments about our beautiful country, we all say.

These headlines aren’t just borne of a tourism boom, but from our booming popularity as somewhere to live. And as we grow, so we need organisations such as the Transport Agency (which has struggled with vehicle safety issues and is having its enforcement work shaken up) and local councils (who sometimes seem easily hoodwinked by a sticker on a van) to keep pace.