The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is disappointed the genuine concerns of landholders and the farming community have been largely ignored in proposed regulations to govern camping on licensed water frontage.
VFF President Emma Germano said it’s unacceptable that the Victorian Government continues to ignore the very real fears of those who will be impacted.
“There’s no stopping campers from settling in for up to 28 days as little as 100 metres from your home on licensed water frontage. It’s safe to say by then many would have overstayed their welcome.”
“It’s a no-brainer that if camping is to be allowed on grazing licences, then dogs should not be allowed.
“Every livestock farmer knows the very presence of dogs will be smelt and seen by stock, causing disruption and limiting their access to water.”
“We urgently need the Victorian Government to take a step back and insert some common-sense into the equation.”
The VFF is advocating that farmers should have the right to clearly mark the boundary between private and public land to manage their property.
“Clearly the regulation prohibiting the erection of signs needs to be clarified. It’s entirely appropriate for licence holders to put up signs requesting gates be kept shut, to indicate the border between private and public land and to identify biosecurity protocols,” Ms Germano said.
The VFF would also like to see a system of registration to improve accountability and assist farmers with biosecurity compliance.
“The Victorian Fisheries Authority have said they are creating a purpose built app, we don’t think it’s unreasonable to ensure the app allows campers to register their stay.”
“Given the level of concern from farmers on the matter, we need the option of a review process in 12 months’ time to change any regulations that clearly aren’t working,” Ms Germano said.
After continued lobbying, the VFF has been advised and is looking forward to public forums on the matter so that all stakeholders can discuss the proposed regulations.