Thursday, 24 March 2022

Camping regulation

Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (18:20): (1846) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and concerns the assessment process being undertaken by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning for camping sites on Crown-leased riverfront land in Victoria. This policy was always an absurdity—allowing free, unregistered camping for up to 28 days on land managed by farmers which may be close to their residences and be an integral part of their farming properties and security perimeters. The biosecurity consequences could be disastrous, so too the danger of fire and the problems of defecation, rubbish and antisocial behaviour. The compliance and enforcement elements will be a nightmare, and I have yet to hear a good response to the insurance difficulties likely to be caused. Still, it was good that in some regards the government backed down between passing the legislation and publishing the regulations, not just on the rules themselves but on the process required for sites to be opened for camping. We were also promised, to quote the DELWP website, that:

Government is exploring the potential for introducing a registration system for the designated camping areas.

There has been no sign of that, and I would be pleased for an update from the minister on it.

Most significantly, though, rather than opening up all licensed properties, we heard in August that just 27 sites would be assessed for suitability in the first tranche. The DELWP website has said since that the locations will be published when available, and yet seven months later there is still no sign of a single site being approved. I note DELWP’s statement that the department is:

… leading the assessment of sites, with the support of a number of other agencies. Assessments include consideration of environmental values and suitability for camping.

An assessment of Aboriginal cultural heritage will be undertaken by the relevant Traditional Owner group for that area.

Is this bureaucratic process the reason no progress has been made? I understand that of the 170 000 kilometres of river and creek frontage in Victoria, some 30 000 kilometres are Crown land. If it has taken more than seven months to look at 27 sites and still not conclude the process, how long is it going to take to go through the whole state? And more importantly, how much is this process going to cost? This is clearly not a cost that was considered when this policy first came to the Parliament, but it is obvious now it will be catastrophically high. The action I seek from the minister is an explanation of how great the expenditure will be, how significantly the DELWP budget will blow out and exceed the original projected cost of the policy and a timescale for the assessment of the sites across the state.