A Queenstown Lakes District Council manager disputes errant parkers are being issued with infringement notices, from CCTV cameras, for no reason.
Regulatory manager Anthony Hall told the council’s infrastructure committee yesterday infringement notices were not "automatically issued" by cameras installed at the likes of bus stops, mobility parks and loading zones, but by enforcement officers who reviewed footage every day and utilised discretion.
Mr Hall said the technology enabled officers to see when a vehicle had pulled in to the monitored parks, so they were able to go directly to that footage to review it.
From that they were able to determine if a person was legitimately using the park, or zone, if they had accidentally pulled in to it and then moved, or if they were illegally parking in loading zones or mobility parks.
The only automatic infringement, where there was almost no room for discretion, was in bus stops, he said.
In terms of loading zones, Mr Hall said anyone could use one to load or unload people or goods, and if someone had been issued with an infringement notice while doing that, the council could review the footage and, if appropriate, issue a waiver.
Sometimes that could indicate staff needed to be retrained, however, "typically ... the person says they were doing one thing, but they were doing something else".
"When you look through it, the person’s not telling the full story.
"If you [park] on a loading zone, you need to be loading or unloading, not fetching your groceries [but] there is definitely a fair and reasonable waiver process."
The committee yesterday adopted the council’s CCTV policy - though Councillor Nicky Glading voted against the motion - which outlined principles to be applied when considering the use of camera surveillance systems.
Included was that CCTV was used for an appropriate, specified and justified purpose only, it complied with the Privacy Act 1993, and draft Act 2020, and facial recognition - while technically available - was not a function being used by council.
If that was to change in future, policy would need to be updated.
Only authorised staff were able to access or download footage which could then be handed to New Zealand Police.
Stored information was erased within at least 90 days of recording, unless required for evidential purposes.
