Mr Tate said the council would continue patrols during the holiday period, but said he was pleased the tourist parks were ‘packed to the rafters’ with people doing the right thing.

When Mr Tate announced the Easter crackdown on illegal camping a few days ago, there was a mixture of opinion within the grey nomad community.

“People should have a choice,” said one correspondent on the Grey Nomads website. “Have you stayed in a caravan park lately …  it’s far too expensive, especially when you are buying fuel as well?”

She said she and her husband split their time between caravan parks and free camping evenly.

“Actually, it isn’t free camping at all as us nomads buy fuel and groceries in the towns,” she said. “And most of the country towns welcome us with open arms.”

Another correspondent agreed, asking how it was possible to discover ‘our great country’ when tourist parks were charging ‘incredible’ fees.

“Some places charge over $100 per night to stay at their park for a patch of grass,” they said. “Most of the time campers that are apparently ‘illegal camping’ are staying one or two nights, and are self-contained and passing through.”

Another contributor admitted that they had often stealth camped in their motorhome in residential streets, truck stops, and car parks.

“The trick is to eat and shower in an approved day use area, and relocate to sleep only in a quiet street when it gets dark,” they said. “We make no noise, turn off lights, close curtains and don’t even flush the toilet, and we leave by sun up … my goal is not to impact residents.”

Others argued that the problem of illegal camping had arisen due to the fact that the government has not provided enough affordable accommodation for low-income communities.

“The council can point fingers at people for illegal camping but they are not addressing the problem,” they said. “For example, when housing became a problem and people started to look at living in caravans and caravan parks the council which owns 80% of the parks put their prices up to a ridiculous amount per night.”

The correspondent suggested that the council develop areas for people to stay and live in their motorhomes/ caravans at a reasonable cost.

“If people are provided with an alternative to illegal camping, I’m sure it would sort out most of the problems the city is experiencing,” they said

However not all correspondents shared the same view. One posted on the Grey Nomads website that people should stop ‘whingeing’.

“Nothing is free and if you want to camp somewhere expect to pay,” they said. “I pay for my rates etc and you should too, so stop with the sob stories … if you don’t have enough money, get another job!”

• Do you think all councils should have to provide free or cut-price camping spots for travellers and those struggling to find housing? Comment below.