Campervans would no longer be seen on New Zealand roads if
the Otago Conservation Board has its way. Photo by Gerard
O'Brien.
The Otago Conservation Board wants a national ban on the
use of campervans and will lobby the Government to get its way.
However, opponents of the fledgling movement have
labelled calls for the blanket ban "ridiculous" and "absolute
lunacy".
Freedom campers have been condemned frequently by community
leaders for the mess and human waste they leave on roadsides
and at scenic parking spots around the Queenstown Lakes
district and Otago.
Discussions during a meeting of the Otago Conservation Board
at Tarras yesterday centred around the issue of freedom
campers, the mess they create and the companies that rent
campervans to tourists.
Board member David Holdsworth, of Portobello, said the
companies renting freedom campervans to tourists needed to take
some responsibility for the mess their customers created.
He called for a licensing scheme which would make the rental
companies responsible for the actions of those who hired
campervans.
Residents and ratepayers were the ones who picked up the bill
for travellers and the mess they left behind in local
communities.
Andrew Penniket, of Wanaka, took a more severe approach.
He called for a national ban on campervans.
Freedom campers contributed "very little" to local and
regional communities.
"They spend hardly anything, anywhere," he said.
Rental companies were mainly foreign-owned, with profits
going overseas; and the vehicles clogged up the country's
roads and highways, he said.
"Personally, I'd ban campervans altogether from New Zealand.
"The whole country would be better off without them," Mr
Penniket said.
Automobile Association tourism head Peter Blackwell said a
general call to ban campervans in New Zealand was "absolute
lunacy".
Calling for such a blanket ban was "ignorant and nonsensical"
and would affect New Zealand's tourism industry, he said.
However, more could be done when travellers arrived and hired
campervans to make them aware of New Zealanders'
expectations, Mr Blackwell said.
Australian-based Wicked Campervans director John Webb said
the move was "ridiculous".
"Any attempt to outlaw campervans would have a disastrous
impact on the nation's tourism industry."
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