The simmering row over the Victorian Government’s decision to open up more Crown land river frontage to camping is threatening to come to the boil again.
In a bid to honour its 2018 election commitment, the Labor administration has been slowly but surely been identifying spots it considers appropriate to allow camping on.
It has just published details of the first four camps in Gippsland — two are on the Wonnangatta River, and two are on the Dargo and Macalister Rivers — and critics have immediately labelled them as ‘totally inappropriate’.
Paradise Valley camp and caravan park operator Neil Williams told the ABC it has all come a surprise to him.
More riverside spots are opening up to campers. PIC: Uriel Mont / Pexels
“It doesn’t really seem fair that we have to go through all the compliance rigours that we do, and the state government feels like it can open up a parcel of land for anyone at any time, I’d just like everyone to be on a level playing field, ” Mr Williams said. “There are caravan parks all over Victoria that have had to comply with Country Fire Authority regulations … there’s a whole host of other council health and safety compliance issues that we deal with on a regular basis and it all adds to our overheads.”
Ans the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has its own objections. The organisation has just written to the Government calling for an immediate suspension of the rules that allow camping on riverside farmland due to the biosecurity risks posed by both Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).
VFF President Emma Germano said nothing should be left to chance when a disease incursion could leave thousands of people without jobs and devastate the regions.
“Uncontrolled public access to farmland presents the most serious risk to farm biosecurity and we believe it’s a no brainer to suspend the rules that allow camping on riverside farmland,” she said.
Ms Germano added the strict biosecurity measures in place at farms designed to keep out disease could be rendered useless if public access to farmland remained open
“Farmers must have the ability to control and trace the movement of people on and off the property
on which they have livestock. We can’t do that if we don’t know who’s on our farms.”
Iagree be very careful re possible desease beinbg spread via Food Scraps and in correct human waste disposal. I am a Caravaner and loike to free camp but under correcr proceedurers .
VFF wake up !!!. The subject land is public not private. To keep LSD and FMD out of farms, farmers will just keep being vigilant on and around their own land and leave the various gov’t bio. dept’s to keep the borders safe.
You cannot take Foot and Mouth disease lightly, just for the sake of MONEY
We have done so well to keep it out for decades now you want to put thousands of people at risk for nothing !!!
We can say we have been on both sides of this fence over the years as ex-farmers and still campers. The correct procedure was always to ask permission from the owner of the property to camp on the river bank and what ever they said was the rules to be allowed camping rites to that area and we camped on extremely large properties in New South Wales in particular and smaller properties else where in many other states, but the biggest golden rule was to leave the area clean if not cleaner then when you arrived, it’s these dirty idiots that have stuffed it up for the 99% of what I call good campers.
I think we will have to have to get used to the idea of more free camps. I totally agree with bio- security concerns, and would suggest that no free camping should be allowed on farm land however, when you look generally at the cost of caravan parks in general, the cheap family weekend away is no more. Add to that the cost of fuel is it any wonder that more and more people are seeking cheaper options
Here we go again. Australians have been free camping since time began. But, when a commercial enterprise thinks they might miss a dollar they scream of all of the rules and regulations that they have had to adhere to as a commercial facility. Sorry to say, the rules are not the same. It is also not morally right to continue to oppose every development that may help others to enjoy this country. Many campers do not use caravan parks but they do buy stuff from towns on their route.
I fail to see how campers and grey Nomads will bring Foot and Mouth to the river bank. I would have thought that the greatest risk to biodiversity was allowing the disease to enter the country.
Also fair to say that if there was an outbreak the campsites could be temporarily closed.
What’s going on is obvious: states and councils are putting private tourist parks out of business. Once private enterprise has been erased, they have a monopoly and can start to charge exorbitant fees to turn public land into council run campgrounds which generate revenue. Local residents are not going to complain, because they think this will help to contain council rates. It’s already happening all along the Cassowary Coast, where the council is on a mission to shut down any private operator that doesn’t comply scrupulously to rules that council campsites themselves ignore.
Fade, you sound like its my territory and no else can do anything without my approval, I am a long time caravanner and use both Caravan parks and Free camps and will continue to do so as a Rate and Tax payer of this country.
I will respect and ensure any site I use is maintained ethically.
Caravan Park owners we respect your properties but it is also our enjoyment we respect more.
If they owned the farmland in question I would agree with them but the land in question is crown land and is collectively owned by all the residents of Victoria.
All the farmer has to do is to fence off his land at the border with the crown land.
As for caravan park owners, they attract regulations because they are charging for the usage of their land and that requires that certain standards have to be met.
I think that I read previously that the camping refers to just camping with a tent and not to parking caravans, but I may be wrong.
The caravan park owner quoted doesn’t understand that some people just don’t like being crammed into caravan parks. If we did, we’d live in the inner suburbs in a high rise! As for camping on public land, the keyword here is public. The public OWN the land. Why shouldn’t they be able to camp there.
All you hear is ‘it’s public land’, ‘We own it, we can use it’. Wrong. The land is LEASED to the farmer, who tends it and uses it. If you rented a house and the owner came in and put a family in the backyard, would you complain or just accept it? Hopefully a compromise can be reached for the betterment of both parties.
The terms of a grazing lease are completely different from a lease on a residential property.