The summer has once again seen a surge in illegal camping in coastal communities … and a fierce backlash from locals.
In Crescent Head on the mid north coast in New South Wales, rangers have been out in force looking to catch people seeking to camp in their campervans for free in streets and reserves.
And it seems the absence of overseas backpackers hasn’t seen the problem disappear.
Kempsey Shire Council’s Ranger Team issued just under 200 infringement notices for illegal camping and parking-related matters between Christmas and Australia Day across the area’s beachside communities.
Council’s Director Operations and Planning, Robert Fish, said the illegal camping patrols were generally conducted in the early hours of the morning, between midnight and 5am.
“Unfortunately, Council rangers do not have the authority to ‘move people on’, or physically stop someone from camping or staying overnight in their vehicle,” he said. “Still, Rangers have and will continue to patrol our beachside areas and will continue to discourage illegal camping, through the issuing of penalty infringement notices.”
Signage has also been erected at all road entrances to Crescent Head, making it illegal for anyone to ‘stay overnight’ in any streets or reserves, including in any vehicle.
A little further north, beachfront residents on the southern Gold Coast say they are fed up with illegal campers urinating in public, dumping rubbish, and taking up valuable parking bays.
Rainbow Bay resident, Bernie McGuiness, told the ABC that the location was ideal for campers because the council provided them with all of the facilities they needed.
“They’ve got barbecues, hot water, toilets and showers,” he said. “They come here, basically live here, cook their meals, and hopefully they use the toilets … but that’s not a given.”
Mr McGuiness said the City of Gold Coast council had laws prohibiting illegal camping but they were not being enforced.
“We complain about it but all we get is excuses about ‘we’re understaffed’ or ‘we can’t do much about it unless we knock on their door and they respond’,” he said. “The campers know this and they ignore the rules.”
Gold Coast councillor, Gail O’Neil, said illegal camping could be difficult to prove.
“I’m not sure it’s a huge problem in normal times, but certainly in holiday times we see a greater degree of illegal camping,” she said. “We have a local law that prohibits illegal camping but they do have to be caught out sleeping there.”
A council spokeswoman said people found illegally camping were given a formal warning and then they could be fined $667.
Any area that are anti visitor simply miss out on the tourist dollar
Simple as that
I agree with you Ant.
It’s illegal – not a camp ground .
Sleeping in a vehicle is not illegal
Driving fatigued is illegal
You are not fit to drive
I dislike caravan parks intensely and I also prefer free camping, however I still respect the wishes of a community that don’t endorse free camping in their neighbourhood..
Living in a coastal tourist town I often witness the irresponsible behaviour of some tourists and it does become tedious having to put up with them. It seems to me that when some people go on holidays their manners are left at home for the sake of ‘having a good time’, often at the expense of others.
Sadly this is particularly noticeable (but not exclusively) within the younger tourists that are travelling on a tight budget and living in their car or modified van. They want to park right on the beach in groups and then party all night long, often leave their filth behind for others to clean up.
If this would be a ‘one of’ incident it could be overlooked but these incidents are repeated over and over, each time a different group with the same behaviour and it’s inevitable that the people living there get the shits.
Sometimes a community makes a decision that is not just based exclusively on the dollar that may be generated by tourists but having consideration for the local residents’ peace and security.
I’m a free camper, I would never stay anywhere close to civilisations such as the Gold/ Sunshine Coast.
Even Northern nsw has become less inviting.
Mostly 24/7 travellers respect and acknowledge.
We only leave footprints, and always clear and clean a potential nights stay.
I do have a problem with councils…
I clean and de-litter the environment, yet disposing of said rubbish is most difficult and large items carry a charge.
For example, weekend warriors often take and leave behind upholstered chairs, setties etc.
Most of have an empathy of our surroundings, and respect the efforts of the local councils,
It would be encouraging to allow bush/beach clean up waste to be disposed of free of charge.
Section 632 of the local government act nsw allows you to do anything in your vehicle. Anything includes sleeping.
The act even states that councils must not put up notices prohibiting this.