4WDers 'locked out'?
Grey nomads are among the Australian 4WD enthusiasts who are getting increasingly upset about being locked out of public lands, primarily national parks.
The situation in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, is fairly typical of a wider battle being played out across the country. The President of the Hunter Region 4WD Council, Robert Kelly says too many national park roads are closed after being declared management trails.
The ABC reports that, in a submission to a State Government inquiry, Mr Kelly said public lands could be kept open by delegating more authority to managers and boosting the use of volunteers.
“There’s been the steady growth of numerous regulations to the point where access to land is so bound up in red tape that it’s getting to a stage where you would think the public is not at all welcome on public land,” he said. “You’ve got locked gates all over the area … it is supposedly on the pretext of conservation first, last and always … and to the exclusion of people.”
Do you think there are too many restrictions on 4WD’ing in national parks. Email us here with your thoughts on this story.
We would like to know if there are vineyards in the Hunter Valley that take caravaners for 1-2 nights?
Could you let us know. Thanks
Regards Gerry