Free Murgon campground in the firing line

A resident living near a Murgon campground has complained to the South Burnett Council about the ‘junkies, drugs and drunks’ that make her feel afraid to leave her home.

Councillor Heath Sander told the council a recent audit on water usage revealed the use had increased substantially, and “tripled or quadrupled in the last year”. Photo credit: Robert Dobson / Google Maps

Unlimited access to water and alleged anti-social behaviour at a free campground in the South Burnett has raised concerns among nearby residents.

Murgon resident and neighbour of the free 48hr campground in Krebs Street, Deborah Moss, told a council meeting on Wednesday, May 21, she’d had enough of the “the junkies, the drugs, and the drunks”, and was often afraid to leave her house on the weekends.

People often lit fires in the park even during fire bans, and it could be a “nightmare” living close by, she said.

The council was asked to enforce more strict rules and regulations on people staying at the campground.

Councillor Heath Sander raised a motion to disconnect the water meter connected to individual sites at the campground.

Reportedly, the campground was the only park in the region with a “loop system” that connected to taps on multiple sites, a leftover feature from when the site was a caravan park.

Mr Sander said there would still be water available for visitors, as there was a separate water meter that serviced the toilet and shower block, which had a tap on the outside of the building for people to use.

He told the council a recent audit on water usage revealed the use had “tripled or quadrupled in the last year” there.

Councillor Jane Erkens said she would not be supporting the motion because she didn’t think turning off access to water was the right thing to do in a housing crisis, which has left many people living in their cars or caravans.

The Murgon 48hr campground is near the centre of town. Photo credit: Google Maps

She alleged the current water usage of the individual taps at the Murgon campground costs around $5.20 per day, which was a small price to pay to allow people staying in the park to live with “dignity”.

“The cost of the water down there actually works out at $5.20 per day,” she said.

“Personally, I don’t believe that $5.20 a day is a big expense for a community to allow people some dignity and to have water connected.”

However, she agreed that people using the park needed to have rules enforced upon them.

“The issue in my opinion is not the people that are homeless – really we are at fault because we are not down there enforcing some type of rules,” she said.

The motion was tabled to be discussed again at a future meeting, once the council has confirmed the cost of water access and usage at the campground.