Daniel Andrews backs down on opening up 17,000km of waterways to campers

Free camping won’t be allowed along 17,000km of Victorian waterways — after a farmer-led backlash. But a watered-down version is likely.

Farmers and campers feared campers would strip vegetation and leave campfires unattended if allowed to freely pitch tents along 17,000km of waterways.

EXCLUSIVE: The Victorian Government has backed down in its bid to allow thousands of holiday-makers to pitch tents along 17,000km of the state’s waterways from September.

Two industry stakeholder groups have told The Weekly Times the Government has instead opted to open up about “25 pilot sites” for campers on crown land water frontages from September.

The stakeholder groups said those sites would first have to undergo biodiversity and cultural heritage assessments to meet the demands of environmental groups and traditional owners, who are concerned biodiversity and sacred sites, such as scar and birthing trees, are not damaged by campers.

It appears the Government will assess how the sites are managed and their impacts on waterways, vegetation and neighbouring landholders before making any decisions on extending the number of sites in the future.

Last November the Labor Government gained the Upper House cross-bench support it needed to pass amendments to the Land Act 1958, which cleared the way for it to draft regulations allowing any member of the public to set up tents and campfires from this September on up to 8287 crown-land frontages, along 17,000kms of waterways, that are licensed to adjoining farmers and other landholders.

The move sent shockwaves through the farming sector, given they feared being left to police campers on mostly unfenced crown land river frontages adjoining their properties, putting them at risk of legal suits as livestock wandered among campers tents and they were left to deal with escaped campfires, rubbish and human waste contaminating their land and waterways.

But while farmers have been vocal critics of the Government’s bid to implement its 2018 election promise to open up water frontages to camping, it appears traditional owners and environment groups are the ones who have persuaded key Labor ministers to back down on a policy they say would irrevocably damage waterways.

In April The Weekly Timesreported Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, Agriculture Minister Mary-Anne Thomas and Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams joined forces to confront Fishing Minister Melissa Horne over concerns with the draft camping regulations, allowing the public to camp for up to 28 nights within 20 metres of waterways, defecate within 50 metres and collect up to half a cubic metre of fallen timber per person each day.

Landcare Groups, Environment Victoria and the Victorian National Parks Association have all lodged submissions in response to the draft camping regulations highlighting that waterway corridors retain some of the most biodiverse remnant vegetation in the state.

VNPA chief executive Matt Ruchel has warned “riparian land is incredibly important for conservation, because often it’s all that’s left in connecting corridors”.

Landcare Victoria Incorporated’s lodged a submission stating the camping regulations would “disempower the Landcare community (of 17,000 volunteers) and risks diminishing their sense of stewardship that has created such important public value.”

“Landcarers, who have sought over many years to manage and protect their riparian frontages, will react with dismay if they find adjacent crown frontages used by campers following a decision made by an uncaring government far away from the site.”

Environmental and farmer groups have also repeatedly warned the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning did not have the resources to manage thousands of campers flooding on to the banks of the state’s waterways and lashed out at the Victorian Fisheries Authority, which is leading the Government’s river camping push.

Ultimately it appears the Government has listened to environment groups and some farmers, who throughout the debate have called for a more strategic approach of working together to identify appropriate camping sites that are fenced off from adjoining landholders, had good vehicle access and contained no valuable native vegetation or culturally significant sites.

The Government is refusing to detail what action it is taking, with a spokeswoman simply stating “we are delivering on an election commitment we made to Victorians in 2018 that has been welcomed by over 800,000 fishers and campers”.

“The draft regulations – including how they’re going to be enforced – are still being finalised and we will have more to say soon.”