With cyclone-ravaged north Queensland communities desperate to welcome visitors back, the council in Airlie Beach has come under heavy fire for hitting the first post-Debbie tourists with fines for ‘illegal’ camping.
When Cyclone Debbie crossed Airlie Beach on March 28, it smashed local infrastructure and put caravan parks and backpacker accommodation temporarily out of action. Following discussions with Tourism Whitsundays, the Whitsunday Regional Council agreed to allow illegal camping to take place until accommodation options reopened.
However, it apparently had a change of heart and hit 20 overnight campers with fines of $243 just a week after Cyclone Debbie had passed. One camping infringement was issued on April 6 and a further 19 on April 7 … although nine were later withdrawn when they were challenged.
The council’s supposed free camping amnesty only ended on April 12 when accommodation providers began to reopen.
A prominent Whitsundays tourism industry figure has slammed the council’s ‘dawn raids’, saying they were counteractive to an industry trying to get back on track following the storm.
“They are our customers; we needed those people,” the tourism operator told The Courier-Mail.
The council claims the fines were only issued to illegal campers who were being anti-social and parking overnight in disabled parking spots.
· Are you in travelling in an area affected by Cyclone Debbie? Are you being made to feel especially welcome? Comment below.
