Thursday, 22 June 2023

Caravan parks

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (17:57): (323) My adjournment matter calls upon the Minister for Environment to renew the Crown leases of caravan parks in local government areas impacted by the 2022 Victorian floods. The flood submission by the Victorian Caravan Parks Association states that 30 caravan parks were directly impacted by the floods, causing $45 million in damages to their park facilities and a further $38 million in lost revenue from a decline in tourism. In Victoria caravan parks provide over 11,700 full-time jobs. Ninety-five per cent of these jobs are in regional Victoria. In the last financial year caravan parks contributed $1.9 billion to our gross state product.

Like many other Victorians, I enjoyed family holidays at caravan parks growing up, and it is a tradition that we have continued with our family. Across northern Victoria caravan parks provide a great place for people to stay and enjoy the great outdoors. They are also an important asset to our state in times of natural disaster, and I want to thank caravan park owners and staff across the state who have helped our emergency response in times of floods and fires. Caravan parks should also be considered part of the solution at a time when Victoria is experiencing a housing crisis. They provide much-needed residential housing and in many regional areas provide short-term accommodation that is desperately needed for seasonal workers.

But right now our caravan parks are struggling. Many experienced direct flooding last year and are doing their best to survive during a very difficult economic environment. Recent natural disasters like the bushfires and floods are driving up insurance premiums and, for some, making it impossible to get any insurance cover at all. The small business flood recovery grants of up to $50,000 were quickly exhausted by parks seeking to replace cabins destroyed by the floods that cost $250,000 each, and caravan parks on Crown lease land are not eligible for the flood recovery concessional loans made available to small businesses.

I call on the minister to renew the 21-year Crown leases to caravan park owners in local government areas impacted by the 2022 Victorian floods, as this would be a significant help to the industry, and I would also appreciate the minister’s advocacy for caravan parks struggling to get insurance and seeking to rebuild and recover following the floods.