Campervan concern aimed at tourism body

The Otago Conservation Board will take its concerns about freedom camper pollution to a national tourism body but has not ruled out continuing to advocate for a nationally consistent response to the problem.

On the advice of the New Zealand Conservation Authority the board, at a meeting at the Sinclair Wetlands at Berwick yesterday, decided to take their concerns about waste disposal by commercial tourist campervans to the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association.

The Otago board had wanted the authority to initiate a nationally co-ordinated investigation into the commercial tourism campervan industry, undertake an assessment of the costs and benefits associated with it and consider options for further Government action.

The authority told the board that that was outside its role and suggested the tourism association would be the appropriate group to follow up the matter.

Otago chairman Hoani Langsbury said the board would send the association a similar letter to the one it had sent the authority and attempt to engage the association's Freedom Camping Forum before its meeting later this month.

"We accept it isn't theirs [the authority] to take on board."

He said there was no point asking for the authority's advice and not taking it, but that did not mean the board would not talk to government ministers.

"With . . . upcoming events like the World Cup, Dunedin is short of accommodation," Mr Langsbury said.

He hoped by that time a nationally consistent approach to the problem could be developed.

- rebecca.fox@odt.co.nz

 

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