All freedom campers are welcome for three days

Freedom campers are now officially welcome just about anywhere in the New Plymouth District.

The exceptions are the bottom carpark at Back Beach where camping is banned year round and the Oakura beach front and Fitzroy Beach carpark where freedom camping is prohibited from November 1 to April 4 each year.

And all campers can only stay in one place for a maximum of three nights.

At the extraordinary meeting of the New Plymouth District Council on Wednesday night a new bylaw went through that will allow council officers to fine campers who stay too long or leave rubbish lying around, $200.

But the council threw out a proposal to ban non-self-contained freedom campers.

Councillor Gordon Brown tried to limit the spaces available for freedom campers at Kawaroa Park to five, but was unsuccessful.

Council officer Mitchell Dyer told councillors that in other parts of the country only 40 to 50 per cent of freedom campers who received fines actually paid them, the rest just skip town. But it was still an effective tool to move people on, he said.

‘‘We do not intend to monitor the whole district.’’

The council spends about $18,000 a year monitoring freedom campers, he said.

Councillor Shaun Biesiek led the charge to make the district freedom camping friendly.

‘‘Are we open for business or not? Freedom camping is bigger than Germans and other Europeans in nonself-contained vehicles.’’

It’s about the kiwi way of life, it’s about surfers and fishers camping at the bach, he said.

‘‘We can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. We’re looking at tourism based on what people drive.’’

The key word is freedom, he said. ‘‘Freedom of choice - self contained or non-self-contained.’’

Brown said with freedom comes responsibility and with freedom comes rules.

‘‘New Plymouth is open to everyone, but they must visit on our terms.

‘‘At the moment there is too much disrespect. We need to do something, we don’t have efficient monitoring.’’

There had been 44 complaints about freedom campers and for everyone who complains there are another 50 people who don’t speak up, Brown said.

Mayor Neil Holdom read out submissions by two New Plymouth residents who wanted no restrictions on freedom camping.

‘‘It’s ingrained in our culture. Why punish people who care about Taranaki for a few who don’t?’’

If New Plymouth opened its doors and asked people to to treat the place with respect the majority would do it, Holdom said.

‘‘Yes there are some ratbags, but I don’t want to be part of an over-regulated society.’’

Earlier in the meeting councillor Murray Chong put forward a proposal that non-self-contained freedom campers should be asked to move to one of the district’s camping grounds and offered an incentive of a discount of 50 per cent off the charge for the first night.

It would cost the council about $25,000 a year, which was a lot less than the cost of putting in toilets and showers to accommodate non-self-contained campers, he said.

‘‘We don’t need to allow non-selfcontained campers in our area. If not selfcontained they need to go to campsites that are already set up. We need to sort the problem out.’’

However, his proposal was not successful.