About 120 freedom camping infringement fines were issued in
the Queenstown Lakes district over the Christmas-New Year
holiday period from December 24 to January 4, Lakes
Environmental regulatory and corporate manager Lee Webster
said.
The figure accounted for more than a third of all
infringement notices issued since local enforcement of $200
spot fines began on September 16 last year. Mr Webster said a
total of 324 notices had been issued, worth about $65,000 in
fines.
He was unable to give a breakdown of specific sites where
freedom campers had been caught breaching the QLDC bylaw.
Although about 90% of the freedom camping offences occurred
in the Wanaka area, that imbalance could be largely
attributed to Queenstown staff being sick during the festive
period, he said.
The high number of infringement notices was to be expected at
this time of year when there was a considerable influx of
visitors into the district.
"That will reduce ... over the coming months, and when we hit
March ... it will be getting a lot quieter," Mr Webster said.
- lucy.ibbotson@odt.co.nz
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