22/2/2024
Press Release from NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party
Charging New Zealanders to use National Parks.
The NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party is horrified that the Minister of Conservation and the National Party are contemplating charging New Zealanders to walk or day trip into our national parks.
“New Zealand is an outdoors country and our Great Outdoors is a cherished treasure that belongs to the people of NZ It’s well established that access to nature is important for our health and wellbeing. It’s for good reasons that free access to our National Parks, in enshrined in law” said Alan Simmons. President of the party and author of the the book “Born to The Outdoors.”
We do understand some places are affected by the numbers of people trying to access them. However the pressure is from overseas travelers and apparently also poor allocation of funding.
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 help in managing the pressure on these places.
” I question how much has been collected and where that money has gone” says Alan Simmons. DOC already charge tourists more to stay in some great walks huts and other places.
The NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party will strenuously fight any plans to charge New Zealand residents and call on the government to spend the funds already collected to managing the pressure rather than using it for Pest Control which is not what it was supposed to be used for.
Ends.
