Farmers left to police new river camping regulations

The Andrews Government is opening up 17,000km of Victoria’s river frontages to camping without any details on how the changes will be managed.

Victoria’s crown land managers are already struggling to manage, let alone police camping.

VICTORIAN farmers fear they will be left to police thousands of campers on crown land water frontages adjoining their land, once new Andrews Government’s regulations come into effect in September.

Draft regulations have been released that allow the public to pitch a tent or build a camp fire to within 20 metres of waterways for up to 28 nights, from September.

But about 17,000km of these water frontages are mostly unfenced and already held by neighbouring farmers, under 8287 crown land grazing licences that make them liable for what happens if livestock injure the public.

How the Government intends to control free camping across such a vast network or rivers and creeks remains unknown, with farmers fearing they will be left to try to stop damage to riverside vegetation, deal with unattended camp fires and people or their dogs wandering on to their properties.

“They’re (the Andrews Government) asking farmers to be policemen,” Victorian Farmers Federation Land Management Committee president Gerald Leach said.

“It’s inevitably going to lead to conflict.

“It’s a system that’s going to create tensions that weren’t there previously.”

The draft regulations state camp sites must be set back at least 20 metres from waterways, not use soap or detergent with that zone and bury their faeces at least 50 metres away.

They must also stay at least 100 metres from any nearby homes and stray no more than 200 metres from the river or into private land.

But the Victorian Fisheries Authority, which is leading the push on delivering Premier Daniel Andrews’ 2018 election promise to open up water frontages to the public, is yet to detail how campers are meant to know where unfenced crown land ends and private land begins.

Fishing and Boating Minister Melissa Horne has simply stated “the public has a right to enjoy public land”.

“With these changes, campers will be welcome to use crown land with water frontage free and in harmony with licensees and the environment – the same way that currently occurs in State Forests.”

The VFF’s Land Management Committee is also worried the Government’s under-resourced crown land managers would struggle to maintain “harmony”.

The Weekly Times understands the VFA is promising to develop smart phone app to help campers identify crown land, plus QR codes to form the basis of a registration system.

Other aspects of the regulations remain clear, especially when it comes to allowing camping on water frontages that neighbouring farmers have revegetated.

The draft regulations state the public risks a $1650 penalty if they “camp on any part of regulated land that contains riparian management works”, which is defined as “works to protect regulated land”.

However the Government told The Weekly Times “once revegetation works are complete or if an area has a cattle grazing licence, camping would be permitted”.

The draft regulations, which are out for public consultation for six weeks, also impose restrictions in the following areas:

RUBBISH AND FIREWOOD COLLECTION

REQUIRE a person using regulated land (a water frontage) for recreation to remove their waste and personal property before vacating that land.

PROHIBIT the cutting, felling, picking, uprooting, taking, damaging or destroying any vegetation, whether alive or dead, on regulated land unless collecting firewood in accordance with proposed regulation 23, which allows up to 0.5 cubic metres a day to be collected.

PROHIBIT campfires in areas containing riparian management works (including areas being revegetated) and areas being cultivated.

INTERFERENCE WITH LIVESTOCK AND STRUCTURES AND MAINTAINING GOOD ORDER

PROHIBIT interfering with any livestock on regulated land, including preventing livestock from accessing the watercourse.

PROHIBIT the recreational use of regulated land which is being cultivated, except with the permission of the land manager.

DOGS to be on a lead unless it is a gundog crossing the land for the purposes of hunting or involved in hunting on regulated land.

PROHIBIT a person from behaving in a manner which is likely to be a nuisance or to cause danger or injury to any person.

PROHIBIT interfering with any building or other structure or works on regulated land.

IT IS an offence to not immediately close a gate on the regulated land which a person has opened.

PROHIBIT the erection of a barrier on regulated land which prevents access to that land (Does not state what form that access should take, by foot or vehicle).

PROHIBIT the erection or display of a sign on regulated land.

PROHIBIT camping in areas containing riparian management works (including areas being revegetated).

PROHIBITS bringing vegetation (other than firewood or wooden objects) onto regulated land or the planting of vegetation on regulated land.

PROHIBITS digging and removing soil, sand or gravel nor cutting of rock from regulated land (other than digging to dispose of human faeces or acting in accordance with a miner’s right or tourist fossicking authority where prospecting is permitted) and the bringing any such matter onto regulated water frontages.

DELWP and Parks Victoria will also be able to designate areas where a permit is required to camp in high visitation sites, where some form of limit on the numbers of campers might be appropriate.

Camping will remain prohibited on licensed Crown land frontages to lakes, lagoons, marshes and swamps.

DELWP will also be able to temporarily close water frontages to camping in an emergency or restrict access, while restoration or revegetation work is being conducted.

A full copy of the draft regulations and the link to make submissions can be found at https://engage.vic.gov.au/regulated-watercourse-land-regulations