Draft regulations which will allow the public to camp within 20 metres of Victorian waterways for up to 28 nights have been released by the State Government.
People setting up campers will also be able to start campfires along about 17,000 kilometres of the state’s waterways, much of which is under 8287 crown land grazing licences held by adjoining landholders. However, they must stay at least 100 metres from any nearby homes and no more than 200 metres from the river.
Other restrictions on campers are that their campsites are set back at least 20 metres from waterways, that they not use soap or detergent in that zone, and that they bury their faeces at least 50 metres away. Dogs are also to be kept on a lead unless it is a gundog crossing the land for the purposes of hunting, and all gates that are opened on regulated land must then be immediately closed.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and Parks Victoria will also be able to designate areas where camping is only permitted with a permit to allow them to manage high visitation sites, where it might be appropriate to limit the numbers of campers.
The Andrews Government promised back in 2018 that it would open up crown land river frontages to campers, and has pressed ahead despite opposition from farmers and landholders.
The draft regulations are out for public consultation for six weeks, and the final regulations are due to come into effect on September 1.
A full copy of the draft regulations and the link to make submissions can be found here.
now for the other states to follow
Will never happen in NSWno money in it for the Gov and there caravan park mates.
As always, guessing continuation of access will rely on people, that’s everybody, doing the right thing. It’s not difficult to leave a spot clean as you found it or clean enough that you would camp there again.
I understand the NSW border extend to the Victorian side of the Murray River. This being the case is the Murray River a Victorian waterway ??
The state border is the high water mark on the Vic side of the border
The southern shore is the of the Murray is the NSW border. If you wish to fish in the Murray River and reside in Victoria, you must obtain a NSW fishing license.
Would love to see this extended to coastal areas as well. There is a lot of coastal Victoria fringed by farm land that excludes the public.
Guess that means I will be catching blind mullet when I go fishing in these areas
Please NO people are just too oblivious to manage their own stupidity, ignorance and mess. Keep away from the shore lines. As it is there are so many clowns that just camp wherever they like often right in the middle of the access roads !!.
Who’s going to be responsible when my 600kg bull charges and tramples everybody in the tent? I sure as hell aint gonna build a fence all along the
river to keep him enclosed on my land?
Maybe the gov better buy the strip of land from me and put a fence up themselves?
No bloody camper is coming onto my place any time soon!!!
More to the point, who is going to be responsible for maintaining these areas? Sure as hell it won’t be Parks Vic. or DWELP. They are that under sourced that they cannot manage areas under their control now, let alone additional areas. Just another of brain dead Dan’s ill thought idea. I can see this left to the landholder which is in no way their responsibility.
If the river frontage is crown land then the Government already owns it. And if you have a license to use it for grazing then the general public already has an access right to it.
The only new access rights is the right to camp there.
I would imagine that responsibility for damages by your bull would be the same as if it got out of your property.
My reply may or may not apply to you as you do not state what type of tenure you have over your land. The article was about grazing leases and if that is the case you are leasing the land for grazing purposes. Other land uses such as camping are not covered by the lease and there is no reason why others cannot pursue this land use on your grazing lease. If you want total control, then have your lease converted to freehold. I would be willing to take my chances with your bulls any time. You are just scare mongering
ABSO-lutely agree with the two previous comments. NO government will pay for the inspectors required to pick-up the rubbish left behind by the couldn’t-care-less 20% (?) of campers, nor keep un-attended camp fires from possibly causing yet more bushfires… and the many other problems that the badly-behaved minority of campers are guilty of.
Steve B (long-time camper and sympathiser of farmers).
Bury your faeces ?? This is last decade stuff.! be self suffient.