Campers should have access to crown river frontages

Campers should have equal access to crown water frontages as landholders who hold a license to graze it, argues the VRFish chairman.

Crown river frontages should be accessible to all including campers, argues Rob Loats.

SOME of Victoria’s best locations for fishing and camping aren’t able to be used because of an archaic ruling buried deep in legislation.

Victoria has 30,000km of crown water frontage.

You can fish or walk or partake in bird watching on this land. Cows can graze upon it and in a few hooved steps potentially cause much more damage than humans doing the same.

But you still can’t camp on it.

Fishers have been missing out on the enjoyment of fishing along hundreds of kilometres of our rivers simply due to a misunderstanding about public access requirements.

The Victorian Fisheries Authority, with the support of VRFish, is working alongside the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to change this.

The State Government has committed to opening up access to crown land with water frontage for camping, to allow more quality time to be spent on and alongside Victoria’s rivers.

Section 401A of the Land Act 1958 enables a person to enter and remain for recreational purposes on a water frontage which has been licensed but prohibits a person from camping on that land.

To enable that, the Act is being amended and the legislation recently passed through the lower house of the Victorian Parliament.

I’ve been a landholder for more than 40 years and know the challenges that come with that, and the pride you have in your own backyard. It’s not just your land, it’s your livelihood.

But some landholders have incorrectly assumed the land they have a licence to graze upon is theirs and theirs alone. Some have gone to great lengths, erecting fences, installing “no access” signs and padlocking gates.

That robs families across Victoria of the opportunity to experience all that Victoria’s rivers have to offer.

The changes will be made with detailed regulations in mind to ensure adequate protection of the environment, including the enforcement of those regulations.

Fisheries Officers will be policing the behaviour of those using crown water frontage in the same manner they police bag limits, fishing gear and licences.

That policing won’t just apply to campers, but landholders as well.

It will work both ways. All parties will need to ensure they’re doing the right thing by one another.

Once the draft regulations have been finalised and put out for public comment, DELWP will be leading a public consultation process so landholders, fishers and families can have their say.

In the interim, the VFA has identified several high value fishing sites with access issues and have installed better signage at 19 spots along the Goulburn.

Down the track, a map on the VFA’s recreational fishing guide app will specify each access point giving everyone access to hundreds of spots in the palm of their hand.

It will get more families fishing, spending quality time together and enjoying the magnificent scenery and experience that camping by a river surrounded by your loved ones can offer.

There are few things better, and we at VRFish think that more people should be given the chance to experience exactly that for themselves.

Rob Loats is VRFish chairman

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