The NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party has expressed deep concern at reports that the Minister of Conservation and the National Party are contemplating charging New Zealanders to walk or day trip into the public’s national parks.
“New Zealand is an outdoors country and our Great Outdoors is a cherished treasure that belongs to the people of New Zealand. It’s well established that access to nature is important for people’s health and wellbeing. It’s for good reasons that free access to our National Parks, in enshrined in law,” said Alan Simmons, president of NZ Outdoors and Freedom party and author of the book “Born to The Outdoors.”
He said the party was aware some places in National Parks are under pressure by numbers of people wanting access. However the pressure is from overseas travellers and apparently also poor allocation of funding.
Tourist Tax misused?
Alan Simmons said the tourist tax introduced by the Labour Government was supposed to assist DOC in maintaining these assets under pressure from tourists. When introducing the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) the Government said it would raise $80 million to help in alleviating the pressure on these places.
” I question how much has been collected and where that money has gone,” said Alan Simmons. “DOC already charge tourists more to stay in some great walks huts and other places.”
He said the NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party will strenuously fight any plans to charge New Zealand residents and calls on the government to spend the funds already collected to managing the pressure rather than using it for so-called “pest control” which is not not an intended use for the tax money.
Alan Simmons – anger at proposal to charge Kiwis
This reeks of the old Business Round Table view that anytime a New Zealander was tramping in the national parks, it costs the national economy because the trampers weren’t back in town buying things. The same document encouraged the government to set up price or bureaucratic barriers to keep Kiwis from the backcountry.
It’s appropriate that the current government is resurrecting the Business Round Table, just as they’ve planned another round of Think Big hydro and irrigation projects, which the taxpayers will fund, in the name of progress.
Meanwhile, our rivers and lakes will bear the brunt of their pollution and fewer New Zealanders will be able to afford spending time in nature.
How does DOC envisage dealing with trout anglers going into a national park? The conservation Law Reform Act, section 26ZN from memory, forbids the charging of fishing rights.
Besides the parks are owned for the people by the people.
Good watch-dog action from NZ Outdoors and Freedom Party. Thank you for the ‘heads up’.
There is nothing new in this charge for parks concept albeit a complete reversal of our Kiwi mind set of the value of freedom to roam our mountains & wilderness.
My previous home of USA has literally100’s of parks State & National, each has a kiosk at gate entrance to pay your fees.I can’t remember the first family visit we had to Yellowstone NP in about 1954 but I’m guessing about $6.00, we camped at Two Thumb near the lake for additional$2 & $1.00 for kids fishing Lic.
I drove through the northern section on snow packed roads in fall 2006 it was $38.00 just to drive at own risk, snow was 3-4 meters in places albeit plowed, I had a good Ford Bronco 4×4/snow lug tires, was a fantastic winter wonderland trip, 100’s of deer elk & antelope& bison.
Jump forward to Arden govmntNZ ,& you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Soon the fees here will be slapped on & admin. owner control by Iwi tribes after Ardern ordered DOC to form the “Options Working Group” in line with Pua Pua Report was charged with preparing the paper work,i e [box rezone ticking’]to hand over the Entire Conservation Estate to tribal control, as part measure to cave in to moedi demands to take the country,”One way or Another”by 2040 .
Not much has been revealed since new govmnt took over.
But could I suggest this topic should be at the top of Alan Simmon’s list of things to investigate & report What could be more obscene & anti NZ than to privatize the Conservation Estate on grounds of whom you claim is an ancestor might have had?
I have 2 large qeii Open Space Conservation Covenents on wetlands & forests of 5 large lakes,21 ponds & 30,000trees gazetteed as “Protected in perpetuity”–Yeah right, A box ticked rezone to Iwi could be done at a desk before morning tea. This charging for Parks concept has not even hit the ground running yet as Iwi eye up a permanent revenue stream ripping the public. Please note how Urewera NP was handed over in a flash under the radar of a ticked rezone box “,new owner”, Iwi .Bet most didn’t even know.
Folks the bad news is Iwi have their eye on the money & it’s within grasp, so bend over folks this one’s coming in ungreased!
now it costs over $100US for a camp site in California….cheaper to stay in a motel. It’s the thin edge of the wedge, you start charging $2 and then it goes up from there….
I don’t think any of this is to do is to do with Maori and tbf all land in NZ is “unextinguished Native title” the “government” owns none of it….
I wonder what gave them the idea that they could charge New Zealanders for access to the National Parks that we all own?
Just following up on above with further heads up.
Folks the News is all bad coming our way. It is incumbent. on all of us valuing that great freedom of out door activities to dig to the bottom of this can of worms where the driver will always be money, power & control. The tribal Iwi, through the “Elite Leaders”, Forum”, have told us that they will be taking over the country “One way or another”.
TV news on Waitangi day had good clips of the brewing hatred as “dressed up, painted,warriors,” came up behind the line of govmnt officials, pounding spears & waving war sticks in attack simulation.This is way too close to trigger point.
If one “hero”over cooked with adrenal bravery landed a death blow on a Crown Minister behind the ear with a war stick, we would launch head long into civil war. Our great historian author Dr. John Robinson has repeatedly warned that tribal wealth at roughly $100, billion could have unlimited resources to launch a nationalized coup, with arms deals & offshore connections of sympathizers. Random guerilla hits of assainations, arson & bombings would soon break any resistence, there is no official Police or Military to counter such an uprising & tribal Iwi know it.All assets would be ethno nationalized,borders closed, no escape, prisoners in our own land. Look how easy dictator Ardern locked us up,the public meekly obeyed like Jews to Auschwitz gas chamber 1942.
Charging locals for utilising National Parks would go down like a lead balloon, especially day walkers. I clear tracks when in the backcountry plus do predator control work during the warmer months so that is my payment. Surely the tourism levy must be used to manage the outdoor areas with accountability, then local users will not be penalised.
A tax at port of departure for all entering NZ who don’t hold a NZ passport.
I’ve noticed many tourists use DoC facilities huts in particular ( as do some NZrs) as a cheap way to get around the country. I’m sure 10 or $15 a head for over 18year olds wouldn’t break them. But then I suppose administration would gobble that up.
you already pay to use huts and most DOC sites, no less than $10/adult for the least functioning sites (i.e. toilet and water) anything more and you’re up to $18/adult, huts I’m not sure but it’s fairly expensive
To finish the job, I was talking about the simplicity of rezoning of conservation estate extended to all land & asset spublic or private.
fURTHER TO MY NOTES ABOVE,it is only fair & necessary to squeeze the last bit of Further conclusion to the Ardern evil out f this destiny tube, 2040 & reveal the final score, prize money,[of course].Surprise??
After the coup, as noted by aid of Robinson’s off shore arms & sympathizers it will be largely a box ticking transfer of all public assets & the country nationalized. to tribal Iwi, [example, Urewera gem Nat’l Park 2 SECOND BOX TICK from Public to private ownership.
The [great prize], will be a fully operational cash cow GDP in billions going to tribal Iwi as Owners of bread basket, food producer NZ to a hungry world also short of fresh water, proceeds Iwi pocket the lot. This potential colossal wealth & possibility scenario is not lost on the greedyTribal iwi.In short time Tribes could write a bank note to purchase Bill Gates Microsoft & Warren Buffet etal.The tribes are already a stride ahead at $100 billion estimate asset base.
In short time this extravagant wealth
One cannot exaggerate this cash prize too much as it is a stream of wealth unheard of in modern times.
Epilogue:
COULD I PLEASE THANK TRACY jANE for comments above. She is obviously an American familiar with the high fees charged in California State/National Parks.
My point all along has been to show the tangled mess of legislating ourselves into a corner where a group calling themselves maoris can make demands on the Crown for money & property & mostly have succeeded in gouging the taxpayer for billions, so much so that the greedy hand wants it all, as I have noted by way of a coup, “one way or another” this is a threat/promise of force. Tracy Jane says this is nothing to do with maoris,SHE IS WRONG!!!
Tracy Jane says this is nothing to do with maoris??
This is where I lose grip.
What could be more specific than maoris telling us they are taking the country, & we can assume the wherewithall to do it wheels are turning RIGHT NOW!!
Tracy has missed the point that the Crown/Parliament is sovereign, so called maoris to date are under the law of that umbrella, Not a separate class of citizen. The promised coup is coming & will probably be successful since all previous demands have been met with handover I’ve mentioned the simple box ticking rezone can change ownership with an easy rezone tick ,[Urewera Nat’l Park went in a flash tick].Pathetic spineless Kiwis have meekly stood to one side,even financed the architects of their own destruction.
NZ as we knew it & its back bone culture is about to change into an ethno state of tribal tikanga.What is officially planned to stop this loss of our country which historically would have come from barbarian’s attack from without.
Ignorance & stupidity here ehas manufactured our destruction from within.
We are like meek Jews led to the gas chambers of Dachau,1942.