The Freedom Camping Proposals have not pleased everyone as NZ tries to clean up its act on public loos. Photo / Getty Images
The Freedom Camping Proposals have not pleased everyone as NZ tries to clean up its act on public loos. Photo / Getty Images
Muck-slinging and bickering continues as New Zealand outdoor groups clash over the management of human waste in the outdoors.
While the return of international visitors will be a great relief for travel operators planning their summer business, others are desperate to address one issue before tourism returns to full flow:
Visitors leaving their poo and other waste in the outdoors.
Although there is a freedom camping review, currently working its way through the bowels of parliament, not everyone is satisfied. Some outdoor groups have asked for the laws to be tightened against people defecating in public places.
It is not illegal to poo in a public place in New Zealand, like a trail or national park, providing you can prove you took reasonable measures not to be seen.
Last week the Responsible Campers Association Inc (RCAI) appealed to the government to plumb the problem before International visitors return to Aotearoa.
RCAI secretary Bob Osborne said that there should be stricter measures to control those caught short in the wild.
"If there are no facilities, bury it. Don't leave it for people to walk in or people to see," he told The Project, last Wednesday.
The group proposed trampers must dispose of their waste 50m away from waterways and bury it at least 15cm below ground.
Not everyone was impressed by the suggestion. The New Zealand Motor Caravan Association (NZMCA) waded in on the issue, saying that the RCAI's views were "incredibly damaging".
Bruce Lochore, CEO of the MCA said that the comments couldn't come at a worse time as the long-awaited Freedom Camping Proposals were the final stages.
"No one has fought harder than us over the past decade to actively defend the rights of responsible Kiwi families to freedom camp," says Lochore. The association has been working with local councils and campers to shape the Tourism Minister's review of freedom camping on issues, particularly around "self-contained" vehicles.
Freedom Camping rules and self-contained certification have been at the centre of a review since 2020. Photo /George Novak
Lochore said that RCAI's measures would undermine progress made to raising the standards of freedom campers, and their toilets.
The NZMCA said the "bizarre views" of RCAI were far removed from those held by its 12,000 members and the majority of New Zealand's responsible freedom campers.
Since publishing his recommendations, Osborne says there has been international media interest in New Zealand's obsession with answering the call of nature but little progress.
Last week the Prime Minister even waded in on the issue to say that basic hygiene standards would not be changed as part of the Freedom Camping review.
"I can promise you there will not be people defecating in the streets," she was quoted as saying by news.com.au.
Osborne told the Herald current proposals around self-contained vehicles were "not good enough" and only accounted of a small set of freedom campers.
Since 2018 the RCAI had been running a 'responsible camper' certification programme for members and lobbying local councils to improve public facilities.
"We need one set of rules that account for everybody," he said.
Osborne's proposal to fine campers who did not bury waste came from the Department of Conservations own outdoor codes.
Before the pandemic the issue of "wild waste" was a hot topic for outdoor organisations. In 2019 DoC released a messaging campaign "Poo in a loo", to encourage hikers to use trail toilets and minimise waste getting into waterways and ruining trail conditions.
The department's own advice to trampers who are caught short, without toilets is to either "dig a hole well away from people and water" or carry it to the next provided loo.
Camping freedoms
The issue of poorly managed campervan waste and public defecation on trails has become conflated under the euphemism "Freedom Camping".
In November 2020 Tourism Minister Stuart Nash singled out "freedom camping" as a key focus of his mission to pursue sustainable, high-value tourism.
The efforts to review new proposals to guide campers and self-contained vehicles are due this year.
The Freedom Camping changes were a key pillar of rebuilding New Zealand tourism sustainably, Nash told Otago Tourism Policy School in March.
While the parliamentary process was still underway, regarding campers and their waste, he said changes could be expected by the end of the year.
"I'm aiming to ensure that some new rules may be in place in time for next summer, so that our communities can feel confident that campers are acting responsibly and will face real consequences if they break the rules."
