Certifier wants help policing loos

Despite throwing $8.5 million at freedom camping this summer, the Government stopped short of establishing a register of selfcontained campervans.

However, a register is still on the cards. A national database is being considered by a crossgovernment working group and advocates say it would be a gamechanger as enforcement officers could easily spot rule breakers.

Many areas restrict overnight stays to self-contained vehicles that have easily accessible onboard toilets with adequate waste storage, but blue stickers denoting certified self-contained vehicles can be faked.

New Zealand Motor Caravan Association chief executive Bruce Lochore said his organisation ‘‘100 per cent supported’’ the idea of a database and ‘‘something with some teeth’’ to deter people from falsifying certification.

‘‘We were hoping that something would be done for this summer, but it’s a big piece of work and we really want to try and get it right. The whole objective is that vehicles can easily be identified as self-contained or not.’’

Holiday Parks Association chief executive Fergus Brown said finding a way to stamp out fake self-contained stickers was crucial and a system where a licence plates could be scanned into an app would be a great start.

On Monday Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis announced further measures as part of an $8.5m package to encourage responsible freedom camping.

They included making copies of the self-contained vehicle standard freely available, $150,000 for research into freedom campers, and a new app to help about 100 freedom camping ambassadors employed by local councils.

Lochore said certified selfcontained vehicles had a warrant attached to the windscreen as well as the blue sticker, so ambassadors checking both would help to establish how many fakes were in circulation.

Certification of self-contained vehicles can be done by any registered plumber. The NZ Motor Caravan Association, which is also an approved certifier, wants a government agency to monitor certification standards so they are consistent across the country.

Davis agreed that a database might be a useful tool and he said the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was working with the New Zealand Transport Agency and other government departments to sort out who might be responsible for any new regulations.

Danielle McKenzie, the director of MBIE’s responsible camping programme, said the current system for self-contained vehicle certification was voluntary but they were looking at whether it should be mandatory, which would require a law change.

MBIE estimated about 123,000 international visitors did some freedom camping last year, but that figure is based on a survey that samples only a small proportion of all visitors.