PLEA TO KEEP CAMPING FREE
CAMPERVAN tourists enjoying Tasmanian sites say they will not return to the state if they can no longer access free camping sites. They say the $2500 it costs to bring a van across Bass Strait is a big enough outlay without having to pay for every night.
THOUSANDS who come to Tasmania to camp for free will go somewhere else if they are forced into caravan parks, a Queensland visitor says.
“We come for three months every summer and would spend thousands of dollars over that time in the small towns where we pull up,” Charon Neish said from a popular free camping site at Preservation Bay in the North-West.
“If we could not access the free campsites we would not come back, nor would many others we speak to on our travels,” she said.
Ms Neish said she would not want to pay $30 or more to stay “squeezed in” in a caravan park. She said it cost about $2500 to bring a van across Bass Strait and many would not outlay that if they had to then pay for a spot in a park.
A report handed down by the Department of Treasury and Finance last week will force Tasmanian councils to rethink the provision of free camping sites.
It clarifies a directions paper issued in 2012 after the Tasmanian Economic Regulator investigated four complaints lodged by private caravan-park operators. It found the Kentish, West Coast, Latrobe and Central Highlands councils had acted unfairly by providing free unpowered caravan and camping sites.
Councils will need to limit public non-powered campsites to no more than 10 per cent of all camping offerings within a 60km radius. If the percentage is higher councils must start charging or prove the free sites provide a public benefit.
Caravanning Industry Association chief executive Stuart Lamont said the guidelines were not about banning free camping sites.
“Some sites may close but others may open up. It’s all about councils doing some due diligence in the area and it is definitely time there was some direction on the issue,” he said.
One Tasmanian council has already closed free camping areas due to the principles of competition policy.
The Meander Valley Council closed the Westbury Recreation Ground and another site in Deloraine to free campers saying a “number of parties” had reminded it of planning regulations and national competition policy principles.
“Visitors to Meander Valley are valued and we encourage you to check out some of our wonderful caravan parks so you can continue to enjoy the unique experience we offer,” the council said when announcing its decision.
The Bracknell River Reserve was also closed to free campers despite locals arguing they were welcome because they ate at the pub and spent money at the shop.
The site was reopened three months later with a $3 fee to get around the competition rules. The permits are paid for and co-ordinated by the Bracknell Boys and Girls Club.