A council on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast has stepped up its efforts to get illegal campers off its streets yet again, with increased fines for offenders.
Noosa Council has voted to increase the fine for people overstaying parking time limits from $83 to $125. It has also doubled the fine for parking in a disability parking space from $333 to $667; and raised the penalty for illegally parking in loading zones from $126 to $166.
Acting Local Laws and Environmental Health Manager Clint Irwin said Council received 38 properly made submissions during the 21-day public consultation on the proposed changes.
“Around half of the submissions clearly supported higher fines to improve compliance … this support was particularly evident among residents that have been affected by overstaying, misuse of disability spaces and illegal overnight camping,” Mr Irwin said.
Last year, Noosa Council introduced timed parking at Noosa Spit in a bid to reduce the number of camping vehicles staying overnight. PIC: Noosa Council.
“While some raised concerns about cost-of-living impacts, the reality is fines only apply when rules are ignored.”
Mr Irwin said the could reinvest any extra revenue from the larger fines into future traffic improvement initiatives and enforcement efforts.
“Ideally, these fines will act as a deterrent. If people do the right thing, we won’t see an increase in revenue – just better compliance and fairer access for all.”
The new fines are expected to take effect within the next month.
In recent years, Noosa Council has taken a series of steps to deter illegal campers.
Late last year, it introduced four-hour time limits at areas Noosa Spit, which had previously allowed unlimited parking between 4am and 10pm.
At the time, Mr Irwin said the community has made council aware of damage to the environment associated with illegal camping.
“This is unacceptable to council,” he said. “So we will continue to undertake frequent parking and camping patrols to ensure compliance with parking regulations and local laws.”
And back in 2023, Noosa’s Director of Development and Regulation, Richard MacGillivray, said the council had increased patrols all over the shire, particularly targeting car parks which had become hotspots for campervan gatherings.
“With campers getting together, drinking and getting rowdy there are safety issues for the public and our Local Laws Officers, as well as the impact of the mess and food waste being left behind, which poses a threat to our native flora and fauna,” he said at the time. “The vans are monopolising parking spaces into the morning so others can’t park there, and our natural areas are even being used as toilets.”
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We think that it should be double that amount.
We recently stayed on the Capricorn Coast for two months, there were caravans & motorhomes staying overnight in almost every carpark.