The Minister of Tourism asked the Working Group to recommend the place of freedom camping in New Zealand’s tourism and recreation offering. The Working Group considers that responsible camping in our public places has a place in New Zealand, and that we should protect New Zealanders’ rights to access and use our public spaces.

The Working Group identified four outcomes of a successful responsible camping system in New Zealand as:

• New Zealand has a network of camping places (commercial and non-commercial) which is sustainable and flexible for different volumes of people camping, and provides for a range of different camping experiences
• Responsible camping has a net positive economic and social impact on communities and the local environment
• Communities and land owners/managers have the tools needed to effectively manage camping, and actively work together within and across districts to do so, and communities have trust and confidence in the system
• New Zealanders and international visitors can choose camping as a way to experience New Zealand’s tourism and recreation offering.

The Minister also tasked the Working Group with identifying criteria to assess proposed responsible camping solutions. The Working Group has identified sixteen criteria that will help assess how well any option will deliver on the above outcomes. These are listed on pages 5-6.