By ALENA HIGGINS
A REFERENCE group has been established to tackle the issue of unlawful camping in the Southern Downs.
An 11-person reference group of stakeholders was set up last week at a tourism forum held in Warwick to look at ways to overcome the challenges of non-commercial camping.
About 40 industry operators convened at the free forum at Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) on 2 July to hear the latest news and updates on tourism and regional marketing as well as seek information about the State Government’s next generation tourism planning guidelines.
But illegal camping was one of the biggest topics of discussion on the day.
Co-owner of Kahlers Oasis Caravan Park and president of Warwick Tourism and Events Majella Kahler said it was wonderful to get a good cross-section of the local community together to discuss non-commercial versus commercial camping, which was an issue that had been “brewing for a long time”.
“It was just good to have everyone in the room, give everyone the opportunity to have their say,” she said.
“Everyone gave each other the chance to speak and listened.”
Unlawful camping has increased over the years as more and more retired baby-boomers take to the roads in fully self-contained recreational vehicles, commonly known as RVs.
But it is not only grey nomads who avoid paying park fees, with many campers often pitching their tents along riverbanks illegally.
SDRC planning and development manager Cecil Barnard, who helped organise the forum, said everyone agreed they did not want to “chase anyone away” and on the contrary wanted “to retain people here for as long as possible”, but not at the expense of commercial operators.
It is anticipated that the reference group will have a process and policy in place on how to combat the issue by the end of April next year, Mr Barnard said.
The group will also include an SDRC councillor, who is yet to be nominated.
