Farmers pitch protest on Parliament’s steps call for camping backdown

Farmers have rallied on the Victorian Parliament steps over the Andrews Government decision to open up 17,000km of river frontage to public camping.

CFA volunteer Fiona Evans protesting the free camping regulations. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Farmers from across Victoria brought firewood, bags of rubbish, placards and even a toilet bowl to the steps of Parliament this morning to give politicians a taste of what it’s like to have someone camp in your own backyard.

Rally organisers Belinda Pearce and Judy Cardwell woke at 4am to travel from north east Victoria, to join others from Gippsland, Genoa, Mansfield and other rural communities to demand the Andrews Government back down in its rushed bid to allow thousands of Victorians to camp along 17,000km of the state’s rivers and creeks from September.

Most of these frontages are unfenced and already held by neighbouring farmers, under 8287 crown land grazing licences that make them liable for what happens if livestock or falling timber injure the public or if campfires escape.

Farmers’ placards summed up their own anger and that of thousands more, who fear they will be left to try and police campers cutting up riverside vegetation for fuel, deal with unattended camp fires, keep dogs and children from wandering among livestock or using paddocks as toilets.

Maffra dairy farmer Vicki Hiscock at the rally. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

“Farmers have enough shit to deal with”, one placard declared, while others warned “Cows and campers don’t mix”, “Farm biosecurity trashed”, “Rivers should be wildlife corridors, not free campgrounds”, “Dan Andrews destroys farmers’ livelihoods”.

Others raised the risks of allowing hunters to camp on waterways within 100m of farmers’ homes, asking Melburnians – “Can we bring guns into your backyard?”.

Rally organiser and Kiewa Valley beef producer Belinda Pearce said the government did not have the resources to police camping across such a vast network of waterways and was using a flawed mapping system to define where the public could pitch a tent for up to 28 nights.

“I’ve been a Landcare facilitator, helping Kiewa catchment groups revegetate properties and I can tell you the government’s (online) Mapshare system is wrong,” Ms Pearce said. “They will have to go back and resurvey the whole thing.”

The Victorian Farmers Federation and environmental groups have already called on the government to back down on a free-for-all rush to riverside camping, arguing it should first survey waterways and limit camping to sites that are fenced, have toilets and road access.

Mitta Valley farmer Thomas Giltrap, who spoke at the rally, called on the government to sit down with locals in each community, catchment management authorities and emergency services to thrash out where camping is feasible.

“They need to go out and access each site and make sure its safe, put a fence around it, compensate farmers, make sure campers are registered and emergency services have access,” Mr Giltrap said.

Oxley Flats CFA volunteer Fiona Evans said: “we’ve already got enough fires to deal with, without having to deal with those that campers let get out of control.”

In the meantime the Opposition put questions to Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio yesterday on who was going to ensure campers protect riverside habitats and cultural heritage and didn’t spark bushfires.

Even some anglers are opposed to the regulations.

Alexandra angler Ian Gibb said while VRFish backed the camping regulations as a fly fisher he was opposed, as were Victorian fly fishing clubs, due to the risk of damaging waterways.

Warburton caravan park operator Dave Pratt said his greatest concern was campers using waterways for free and then flooding into caravan parks to use facilities.

Maffra dairy farmer Vicki Hiscock, who has 4km of McAlister river frontage said: “I’m concerned about the mess campers will leave behind and their dogs moving through cattle and horses.”

Young farmers at the rally also shared their concerns, such as 14-year-old James Gilmore from Thornton who said he was not just concerned about the biosecurity risk and mess, but the destruction of habitats that would occur if campers flooded the state’s waterways.