Editorial Tuesday January 06, 2015

Peter Jackson, editor, The Northland Age

Land of the free

AMERICA is the land of the free, according to The Star Spangled Banner. Whether it remains so 201 years after Francis Scott Key wrote the poem that became the national anthem is a moot point, but if Americans are losing their freedoms as the world becomes a more dangerous place they aren't alone.

It isn't danger that's always behind the same phenomenon here in New Zealand. More often it's concern for the environment that underpins our way of life.

There's nothing special about the environment here in God's Own Country, except perhaps our tiny population that enables us to cling to the belief that we can maintain our status as a developed country without sacrificing what nature has given us, although dairy farming, still largely the source of our wealth, is increasingly seen by some as the great despoiler. Perhaps that would not be so if we made greater efforts to produce manufactured goods from the resources that we persist in exporting largely in their raw state, but until we see factories belching smoke into the atmosphere dairy cows will remain the major villain.

There is no doubt that dairy farming, and pastoral farming in general, can co-exist with a clean, green natural environment, but some refuse to recognise that, and the efforts being made to achieve it. But while cows and sheep may allegedly be responsible for the bulk of our perceived contribution to the climate change that some say will destroy our planet, the real problem in New Zealand is people. Not in terms of sheer numbers, as in many other countries, but attitude. The carelessness with which some people treat what nature has provided is extraordinary, and fundamentally responsible for the imposition of rules that assume we are all idiots.

It is difficult to argue that idiocy is not in the ascendancy, especially at this time of year though. Another Christmas and New Year have been blighted by tragedy, on the roads and in the water. Bad stuff has always happened, no doubt, and there is nothing special about this time of year that endows us with immunity from the consequences of our ill-conceived actions, but these days the festive season's news is seemingly dominated by death and destruction, not infrequently the result of behaviour that almost begs to be punished by the laws of nature.

So these holidays people continued to drown, despite the efforts made to instil the basic safety messages into the national psyche, and the road toll rose, although it will surely never again reach the proportions that were accepted as inevitable in the days before cars had safety features and the rescue helicopter, which has arguably saved more lives than anything else, was invented. We don't seem to have become better drivers; we have simply improved our chances of cheating death.

The natural reaction, of course, is to make more rules, to deprive us of the opportunity to make our own decisions, and ultimately to play fast and loose with our own lives. That's probably the right thing to do. It is certainly true to human nature, but we must all live with rules designed for the lowest common denominator. There is probably no better example of that than freedom camping.

Once upon a time, before the term 'freedom camping' had even been coined, the Far North really was a summer paradise. Those who wished to escape their daily routine could literally pitch their tent almost anywhere they wanted to. There were exceptions, no doubt, but most people seemed to be environmentally responsible. They enjoyed communing with nature without ruining it for themselves or others, and everyone was happy.

Not any more they aren't. In part the problem is one of numbers - the hordes that camped on the reserve at the end of Ramp Road at Tokerau Beach last summer raised hackles not only because of the behaviour of some but because there were so many of them. Where once one or two small tents might have sprouted in the night there was suddenly a campground. And plenty of rubbish was left for local residents and/or the council to deal with.

Some years ago the district council resolved to allow camping there at very minimal cost, using the good old honesty box. Not many paid though, and it seemed that a walk of a hundred metres or so to the public toilets was too far for some. The experiment lasted one summer before the 'No Camping' signs were dragged out of storage.

The council hasn't shunned the concept of freedom camping entirely though. It grudgingly provides four specific sites where people may park their self-contained vehicles, albeit with a maximum of four per site at any one time, for a maximum stay of 24 hours.

Those sites are outside Kawakawa, at Lake Waiparera, north of Waiharara, the Kaimaumau recreation reserve and the Unahi reserve, none of which rate as beauty spots, and in the case of Lake Waiparera is so poorly maintained that only the truly desperate would dream of stopping there. And if they did they would be unlikely to stay more than 24 hours, unless they were taken hostage and prevented from leaving.

To be fair to the council, opening the gates to freedom campers could pave the way for significant public health issues, would undoubtedly raise the hackles of residents, and, as it warns on its website, could provide opportunities for ne'er do wells to prey upon the unwary and unlucky.

The council isn't the only wet blanket. Ninety Mile Beach is off limits to freedom campers thanks to the potential for fire in close proximity to Aupouri Forest. Indeed the danger of fire provides the strongest argument against freedom camping on the Karikari and Aupouri peninsulas year round, and the Far North in general over summer. (It was freedom campers who were credited with lighting a fire at Paua last month, although their taste for a cooked breakfast only damaged a couple of planks on the wharf).

At the end of the day the problem is that any significant gathering of human beings, whether they be on the road, at the beach or looking for somewhere to enjoy their holiday, will always include a proportion of idiots, people who display no common sense, no respect for their environment or other people. And like it or not, the only rational response to that is to impose rules that, as far as possible, restrict their ability to display their ignorance or stupidity.

No one has quite cracked that yet when it comes to driving, but forcing campers into controllable areas is less of a challenge. It's a shame that, thanks to the actions of some, those who would like to enjoy our great outdoors sensibly and without impinging on the rights and freedoms of others must follow the same rules and regulations, but such is life. Denying freedoms for the majority to deter a minority, or to protect them from themselves, will continue as officialdom in its many guises seeks to make our way of life as safe and sanitary as it can possibly be. We now have rules and regulations for every conceivable circumstance, but there will be more.

The key, perhaps, is how those rules and regulations are enforced. We can all do our bit to encourage a little flexibility by using our brains at every opportunity, but the days of enjoying our wonderful part of the world without restriction are well and truly over.