Freedom campers

A $200 instant fine will be issued if "freedom camping" rules are broken, the Department of Conservation (Doc) Wakatipu area office warns.

People who poo in New Zealand's pristine places can now be pinged with a fine after a bill passed by Parliament today.

Freedom campers are being dumped on unfairly by new legislation banning camping in some areas and allowing instant fines for leaving waste, Labour and the Greens say.

Seven enforcement officers have been appointed to police freedom camping in the Waitaki district, but will be adopting a "low-key approach".

The new Freedom Camping Bill and signs are doing their job, the Queenstown Lakes District Council says, citing decreases in freedom campers in non-self-contained vehicles.

The new freedom camping law passed by the Government has been welcomed by the Waitaki District Council, but it still has to decide what to do with a bylaw it prepared earlier this year.

Freedom camping should be banned in the Waitaki district and visitors directed to camping grounds or holiday parks, according to Kakanui camping ground owner Allan Jones.

A Dunedin City Council bylaw to control "freedom camping" has been voted into existence, but the city will have to wait up to a year before it has any teeth.

Proposed legislation changes to tighten controls on freedom camping in New Zealand may be influencing rental campervan companies to review their fleet requirements to include more self-contained facilities.

A decision on the future of freedom camping - tourists who visit the city in campervans and park on public land in the city - has been postponed, after a change at government level.

A bylaw to manage freedom camping may be delayed by the Waitaki District Council until it knows the details of a new law to go to Parliament.

As is so often the way, it is the few who spoil it all for the majority. New Zealanders have been "freedom camping" for as long as they have lived in this country. Tramping and camping lore is pervasive and includes a certain etiquette pertaining to the delicate matter of being caught short in the bush.

Over 90 parties from as far away as Auckland have outlined their views on the Queenstown Lakes District Council's draft freedom camping bylaw.