Major players silent on new waterfront camping laws

Big players appear conspicuous by their absence in the debate about camping on licensed water frontages, write beef producers Harry and Sue Ryder.

Big impact: Tourism operators, the health department and insurers need to consider how their businesses and bottom line will be impacted by this change to the camping legislation.

WHERE is the Insurance Council of Australia? Every farmer must have a $20m public liability policy to cover their primary production business, which does not include free camping. Does it meet the underwriter’s conditions of your policy and if not, how much will it cost to indemnify the farmer, family and employees against any claim?

WHERE is the Victorian Caravan Parks Association?

A 28-day camp in the Alpine National Park (that is if you were allowed to stay for 28 days straight) costs $16.80 a night for three persons which means a caravan park operator will lose approx. $470.40 every time a free camp is chosen over a safe, secure and well serviced caravan park. Can caravan park operators afford this extra loss to their business?

WHERE is WorkSafe? Farmers are exhorted to become more safety conscience, but what if the farming mix suddenly has uninvited free campers with little or no farming knowledge, wandering around?

WHERE is Aboriginal Affairs Victoria? All waterways across Victoria have a blanket coverage across them to protect Aboriginal heritage sites but will the free campers know what they are destroying when they pick up a stone tool or dig a hole to defecate in?

WHERE is AGL? Victoria’s hydro-electricity producer has the benefit of “in commercial confidence” when deciding when to, and how much water will be discharged into the Kiewa River and its tributaries. Water flows in the East Kiewa and West Kiewa rivers can fluctuate dramatically and without warning and anyone camping along those two rivers could easily be flooded out or even injured by debris coming down in the flood waters.

WHERE is Meat and Livestock Australia? Biosecurity is a major component of a livestock producer’s ability to produce a clean, green product highly sought after by international and domestic markets. If a free camper enters your property along a waterway, how can you account for where they have come from, what they are carrying and what they will leave behind?

WHERE is local government? Rubbish left behind at the current free camping sites costs money to clean up and remove.

WHERE is the state Health Department? Defecation along a waterway will have pathogens moving through the watertable and on down the river to infect another free camper.

It’s time for all these organisations and the police, ambulance and CFA to act now and consider how their business’ and bottom line will be impacted by this change to the legislation, for everyone will be impacted.

● Harry and Sue Ryder run a beef producing property at Tawonga with their sons Adam and Phillip

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