Rubbish dump by campers no surprise

It comes as no surprise that a major issue with permitting camping along licensed river frontages is rubbish left behind by those campers.

Speaking in parliament, State Liberal Member for Eildon Cindy McLeish blatantly called out the disrespectful behaviour of unregulated campers littering and labelled it a sign of things to come.

Ms McLeish said, “I was sent photos by a landowner of rubbish left behind by unregulated campers over the Easter holidays. It was so disappointing to see but really no surprise.

“It was not only food scraps being left. There were discarded tents, bottles, aerosol cans and plastic tubs.”

The proposed regulations put for by the State Labor Government will allow people to camp only 100 metres away from family homes for 28 days. This is an invasion of privacy and raises serious concerns for children’s safety.

In addition, there are already limited resources to monitor unregulated camping and dangerous behaviour. Concerns exist as to how campers will be patrolled, how risks of livestock interference will be mitigated and uncertainty about liability matters.

Ms McLeish continues, “Landowners have every right to be concerned and upset about the proposed camping regulations and their land being opened up to strangers.”

“The state government needs to listen to and incorporate feedback on the proposed regulations by current licence-holders to ensure a bad situation does not become worse,” Ms McLeish concludes.