Gympie councillors back controversial tourism camping changes in close vote

A split Gympie council has defied a staff recommendation in a tight vote to allow rural landholders to ‘diversify’ their revenue streams by increasing the number of campers allowed on their land.

Proposed changes to help rural landholders “diversify” their revenue streams by increasing the number of campers or campsites allowed on rural land before council approval was needed became a battleground that narrowly passed 5-4, with councillors Bruce Devereaux (left) and Bob Fredman ( right) leading the charges for the opposing sides.

Controversial plans to allow more campers on rural blocks before requiring council approval have been pulled back from the brink of oblivion by a narrow vote in Gympie Regional Council’s final meeting of 2023.

Councillors defied a staff recommendation and instead backed the plan to increase the number of caravans and campsites allowed on a property without council approval.

The previous limit of four (caravans or campsites) will now be increased to eight.

The staff report tabled for councillors had recommended keeping the limit at four.

It said investigations revealed the council was dealing with problems at dozens of tourist parks and campgrounds across the region.

These included compliance issues at 19 parks, and complaints about another 11, between January 2022 and November 2023.

The complaints included a Greens Creek park with three “unlawful” shipping containers and two permanent caravans, and overcrowding and illegal camping at other sites.

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Gympie council staff recommended scrapping the proposed change and keeping the limit to four caravans or campsites amid concerns about the number of non-compliant tourist parks already in the region, but they were overruled.

Despite these concerns, councillor Bruce Devereaux asked councillors to keep moving forward with the increase which had been “well thought out” and was designed to help landowners struggling with cost of living increases and rising rates.

It had benefits to the entire region by way of drawing more tourists, he said.

Bob Fredman staunchly opposed the change.

Mr Fredman said “not one” of the residents of the Mary Valley “wants a caravan park on their boundary” and 99 per cent “do not want it to go through”.

“If it has to.. I want a further amendment it not apply in the Mary Valley,” he said.

Shane Waldock, Dan Stewart and Jess Milne backed Mr Fredman.

Mr Waldock asked if those supporting the change were “happy” to double the noise, dust, and light issues in regional areas, and Mr Stewart said he did not want to undercut tourist park operators who had sunk millions of dollars into their ventures.

The four were unable to sway the vote, though, which got through with the support of Mayor Glen Hartwig, Deputy Mayor Hilary Smerdon, Dolly Jensen and Warren Polley.

Originally published as Gympie councillors back controversial tourism camping changes in close vote