With the 2017 General Election looming, we decided it was time to put the hard questions on recreation to the main political parties vying for our votes on 23 September.

Their responses to our questions are provided below. These have been provided verbatim to allow readers to draw their own conclusions.

note: comment was requested from political parties on 21 June 2017, with subsequent requests where no information was provided. As of 8 September 2017, no response had been received from New Zealand First. The Act Party declined the request for comment.

Question one: The total Vote Sport and Recreation budget is currently $89m, of which less than 25 per cent is allocated to areas outside of High Performance Sport. Only $1.4m is allocated to the Outdoor Recreation sector. Given the insights of the Sport New Zealand Active New Zealand Survey, does your party support the allocation of Sport NZ funding on a basis that more closely resembles participation in the different forms of recreation?

	Yes. The provision of recreational and sporting facilities should be sufficient to meet the diverse needs of local communities and support a range of activities for all age groups.
	The Labour Party believes that the proportion of Sport NZ funding that goes into High Performance is too high and that there should be more emphasis on encouraging physical activity.
	We support the allocation of Sport NZ funding but want more funding to specifically target Māori and Pacific. Specifically, we want to establish a National Māori Sports Federation: Te Tira Rangaranga ā Rēhia with funding to assist Māori sports achievers at a national level and support Māori sporting codes to be self-sustaining. We also want to establish a Pacific Sports Agency.
	We believe SportNZ funding has to have the right balance of high performance investment and support for community based programmes. Active recreation is an important component of community sport, and we will continue to invest in National Recreation Organisations through a contestable funding process so long as the meet they various requirements of good governance, and getting more young people and adults engaging in more sport and recreation.
	TOP hasn't researched this issue but we are an evidence-based party and if this issue arose we would work with members and review the evidence to make our decision. On first blush it does seem odd that so much of our funding goes to high performance sport rather than encouraging wider participation, given the health benefits this provides.
	We support funding being based on participation as well as need and benefits, we certainly agree that more funding should go to outdoor recreation.

Question two: The National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management does not have a specific reference to recreational access for freshwater. This is stark contrast to the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement 2010, which makes excellent reference and provision for recreational access to coastal waters (Policy 19). Does your party support an amendment to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management, incorporating a specific policy on recreational access for freshwater?

	Yes.
	Labour believes that ensuring riparian rights are respected and using the tenure review process to improve access is a better approach. Having said that the Policy Statement is the best way of ensuring the improvement of water and therefore quality recreation including fishing.
	Position: Tentative Māori Party Co-leader Marama Fox has stated that freshwater management requires a cohesive and coherent water quality management framework and focusing more on Te Mana o Te Wai which should be considered by the Government. The Te Mana o Te Wai Fund provides funding for projects that support or enable iwi/hapū in collaboration with local government to improve the water quality of freshwater bodies, including lakes, rivers, streams, estuaries and lagoons.
	The Government's new National Policy Statement (NPS) on Freshwater Management, announced 9 August, will deliver cleaner lakes and rivers with ambitious new targets for improving their recreational and ecological health. At our core is our ambition to marry together good economic and environmental policies. You cannot have a strong economy without high environmental standards, but nor can a country achieve high environmental standards without the resources of a successful economy. We also base our environmental brand on robust science. The new policy confirms the Government's national target of 90 per cent of rivers and lakes being swimmable by 2040. The policy has been strengthened following consultation by requiring regional councils to set regional targets and regularly reporting on achieving these. These cover much more demanding standards of water quality for primary recreation like swimming, new requirements for ensuring the ecological health of our waterways, more explicit requirements for considering economic wellbeing within limits, tougher requirements for limiting nutrients and algae and the provision for Te Mana o te Wai arising from our work with Iwi freshwater leaders. Freshwater improvement will remain one of our top environmental priorities.
	We certainly support the right of everyone to use our freshwater resources for recreational purposes. We aim to ensure all our rivers and lakes have enough good quality water in them for exactly this purpose. We haven't looked at this access issue in detail but if it was practical to implement this change we would support it.
	We think that everyone should have access to freshwater, and we will do everything in our power to make that right a reality.

Question three: In the Outdoor Education sector, it is widely agreed that organisations engaged in facilitating school-aged children into the great outdoors should be exempt from DoC concession fees, as is the case with schools, who are not required to hold a concession at all. Does your party agree that the organisations engaged in facilitating school-aged children into the great outdoors should be exempt from DoC concession fees?

	We're keen to review this decision, subject to full consultation with DOC, Maori, and other effected stakeholders.
	We support non profit organisations facilitating school aged children being exempt from DoC concession fees. We don't support a general exemption because of the loophole it opens.
	Position: Support We will invest in funding of youth co-ordinators and sports coaches to enable a wider range of afterschool activities for school aged children.
	At this stage we don't plan any changes to concessions policy.
	Again, we haven't researched this issue but this recommendation makes sense for the sake of consistency.
	Yes.

Question four: In the five years since the Adventure Activity Regulations have been implemented, Adventure Activity operators have undertaken significant and costly changes to their organisations. There is a desire that WorkSafe undertake a comprehensive, independent and data-driven analysis of the safety outcomes generated by the Adventure Activity regulations. Does your party support such analysis being undertaken?

	Yes.
	Yes.
	Position: Support Policy: We want a government that values accountability and serving the people; we want a public service that understands the aspirations of whānau, hapū and iwi.
	Yes, in fact there has already been research published evaluating the NZ Adventure Activities Certification Scheme that implements the regulations. This research found that the safety management systems in the adventure activity space have been strengthened considerably. We believe that while regulations are central to the health and safety landscape of New Zealand, we do not want to tie business owners up in unnecessary red-tape so periodic independent reviews are a vital method to test the effectiveness of these regulations.
	Yes - we are an evidence-based party and will always support good quality information to inform decisions as much as possible.
	If feasible, yes.

Question five: The Department of Conservation manages one third of New Zealand's land mass and by its own legislation is required to foster recreation on public conservation land. In the last nine years, the amount of land under its management has increased due to the outcome of tenure review, the population of New Zealand has grown and there has been an explosion in international visitor numbers. Despite these factors, the funding for the management of recreational opportunities has remained static or declined. Does your party support a step change increase in funding for the Department of Conservation to carry out its function of fostering recreation?

	DOC's funding for managing recreational opportunities has remained static despite strong growth in recreational demands, like the New Zealand Cycle Trail which the Green Party developed in partnership with the Government. We support increased funding for recreation, however our priority for DOC funding increases will be for biodiversity protection in the first three years of a Green-led government.
	Extra funding for DoC is vital. An airport levy or tourist tax is one good way of getting that funding.
	Position: Support Policy: Promote water safety skills including community swimming pools, increasing accessibility.
	Budget 2017 invests an additional $107.8 million to strengthen conservation programmes and manage tourism growth on public conservation land. The new funding means government conservation funding totals $466 million in 2017/18. This compares to $417.5 million that was spent on conservation in 2008/09. The Budget 2017 tourism infrastructure package is part of the Government's Business Growth Agenda and the Regional Economic Development programme. The funding is made up of $44.6 million operating funding over four years and $31.3 million capital and includes: $23 million for improving visitor experiences throughout New Zealand. $11.4 million for improvements to DOC's online services to the public and introduce more customer focused technology and a new booking service. $12.7 million towards the expansion of the Great Walks network. $5.7 million to develop Great Short Walks and Great Day Walks. $19.8 million for upgraded tourist facilities. Additional funding includes: $21.3 million operating funding in 2016/17 for Battle for Our Birds pest control programmes targeted at areas with prolific flowering of beech and other forest species that threaten endangered species. A contribution of $750,000 in 2017/18 to the establishment of two new marine protected areas in Hauraki and Marlborough.
	Yes, boosting funding for DOC is a priority in our environment policy. Nature is our number one asset, alongside our people, and we are not investing in maintaining that asset sufficiently at present. As per the answer below we want to see tourists, polluters and commercial users of fresh water contributing to conservation funding.
	We support increases in funding to the DOC where it is required.

Question six: It has been forecasted that by 2025 there will be over 5 million international visitors to New Zealand, the majority of which will seek to engage in recreational activities. DoC and some Councils have struggled to cope with the pressures placed upon their recreational facilities, forcing them to make some very tough decisions between catering for international visitors and their role of providing for New Zealand recreationalists. Considering all the various options available, including departure/entry tax, accommodation levy, charging for National Parks or utilising the General Fund, how does your Party propose to fund the provisions of tourism and recreational infrastructure?

	Last year, the Green Party announced our plan to raise a new tourist levy to directly boost funding for the Predator Free 2050 project and the contestable Regional Mid-sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund. A new $20 per person levy will raise approximately $85 million in new funding for these two projects.
	[no response provided as at 8 September 2017]
	Position: Support Policy: Invest further to support iwi tourism business opportunities. Support a levy on all tourists entering Aotearoa to improve infrastructure and impacts on the environment.
	As part of Budget 2017, the National-led Government announced a $178 million tourism infrastructure package, which is a huge step towards that balancing act of providing vital infrastructure for tourists while keeping our beautiful country pristine. Applications have just opened for the first round of the $102 million Tourism Infrastructure Fund, which will support smaller councils in establishing the infrastructure which tourists use - be it toilets, carparks, freedom camping facilities and rubbish disposal systems. Nature is priceless but to put the fund into context, there is $60.5 million in new money from Budget 2017 along with $41.5 million in funds moved over from the Tourism Growth Partnership and the Regional Mid-Sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund. Our country's tourism industry is built on beauty, and that's why it is important our Department of Conservation areas are supported to the tune of $76 million as they play host to a vast majority of the 3.5 million visitors to New Zealand each year. The search will also soon be on for two new Great Walks as part of the Great Walks network. The package sets aside $12.7 million for the expansion, which will feature a contestable process to select the best locations for these new walks. A network of Great Short Walks and Great Day Walks will add to the experience for those tourists who may not have time for the multi-day walks.
	TOP supports a tourism levy, starting at $20 per tourist. In the longer term we are suggesting many other sources of income that could be used to improve local parks and the DOC estate, including charges for polluters and commercial (extractive) users of fresh water.
	We support a conservation levy of $25 on anyone entering the country, with all proceeds going to the DOC. That way all who enjoy our great outdoors contribute to its upkeep. If your figures are correct that would mean 125 million in extra revenue for the DOC to keep up our conservation estate.