Were the lights on in the camper van? Or were they turned off? Seems a petty point but there's an important distinction for Shane Palliser and the Tauranga City Council.

Because it's the difference between Shane getting snared in the crackdown on freedom camping.

Shane was one of the first people in Tauranga deemed to be an illegal freedom camper and slapped with a $200 instant fine.

'Yeah, June 1 was hammer time, and I got hammered.”

But he's arguing the point. Shane was in his six metre HiAce mini bus at Memorial Park, and admittedly not in one of the designated sites for parking up camper vans overnight.

'I am not sure what these bloody idiots are doing because I was awake, sitting in my vehicle on Facebook and listening to music, the light was on and they leave an infringement notice. $200.

'I was not freedom camping because I wasn't asleep and I was intending to move on for the night.”

Shane maintains he'd given up his designated camping site because of his intention to go elsewhere to sleep.

But there's a discrepancy between Shane's story and the official version of events.

'The ticket was issued to Mr Palliser at 11.25pm,” says Tauranga City Council's bylaws and parking man Stuart Goodman in a statement to The Weekend Sun.

'A ticket will only be issued if the lights in the campervan are off, as it's expected the occupants are sleeping.”

And if the lights were on, the officer would engage with the occupants where possible, says Stuart.

There was no engagement between Shane and the enforcement officer that night, suggesting the lights in the campervan were off and Shane was freedom camping in breach of the bylaws, even though he disputes those facts.

The council crackdown on freedom campers began June 1.

It was well publicised. The first infringement notice was issued last Saturday morning to a non-self-contained vehicle parked on Pacific Avenue in front of Mount Drury.

A certified self-containment vehicle is one that can meet the ablutionary and sanitary needs of the occupants for a minimum of three days without needing external services or discharging any waste.

The council policed all the favourite freedom camping haunts like Harrison Cut, Omanu car park, Stella Place – officers issued another 79 infringement notices worth nearly $16,000.

And there was Shane's ticket at Memorial Park.

'They're being a bit Draconian,” says Shane.

'Couldn't they issue a warning and say you are not doing it correctly, and if you are still here tomorrow and not doing it correctly, then a ticket.”

That might happen if the officer has an opportunity to engage with the occupants of the van.

However, Stuart Goodman had indicated earlier that the ‘educational approach' was no longer proving effective, so they're getting tough.

'The number of freedom campers in Tauranga has increased and so have the number of complaints. The majority respect the rules but we are seeing an increase in non-certified vehicles and campers exceeding permitted numbers at certain locations.”

The bylaw allows a stricter approach to enforcement which enables the council to more effectively ensure the rules are adhered to.

'We're carrying out daily proactive patrol,” says Stuart.

'And if a freedom camping vehicles is not in a correct area, or they are in a non-self-contained vehicle, an infringement notice (of $200) will be issued.”

Shane says he's living in his campervan at the moment so he can save money to start up a business.

'I would go to Memorial park later in the day, use the facilities and maybe listen to some music. And sometimes I might give up my legitimate camper van spot to someone else because I am going to drive somewhere else to sleep.”

He says that was before ticketing.

'That's all well and good, but not well and good.”

Shane also says he serves a purpose at Memorial Park. 'The rowing club says its great having us guys around, because we deter the vandals and graffiti, and we clean up all the broken glass. We assist security.”

He says if homeless people living in cars didn't go to Memorial Park, they would be parking up in suburban streets.

'Do we want families in homes and women in apartments looking out at strange men asleep in cars. That's not really what we want.”

Shane understands the rules. 'And if I got 100 tickets and I was doing something wrong, then I would pay the tickets. But I wasn't asleep, so I wasn't freedom camping.

'I could stay here (in Memorial Park) for a week and if I didn't go to sleep I wouldn't be freedom camping, so I can do whatever the hell I want.”

The Tauranga City Council's clampdown on freedom campers seems to be working.

'We saw a noticeable reduction in the number of infringement notices issued over the three days of Queen's Birthday weekend,” says Stuart.

'It averaged 30 plus tickets on the first two nights dropping to seven on Monday night.”

He says interaction between enforcement officers and freedom campers was minimal and uneventful.

'We are pleased to see the message is getting out and people are choosing to abide by the rules.”