Caravan & Residential Parks Victoria (CRPVic) has welcomed the Victorian government’s new decision to abolish free camping at Parks Victoria campsites, following a sustained advocacy campaign by the association to protect the interests of private caravan park owners.
Last week’s state budget confirmed that free camping would be wound back, with a return to half-price fees at government-managed campgrounds.
According to CRPVic the move restores a more level playing field for Victoria’s highly regulated tourist caravan parks, many of which had been forced to compete against taxpayer-funded, unregulated sites.
“Victoria’s regulated, family-friendly caravan parks are often the lifeblood of regional towns, accommodating over 50% of overnight stays, contributing over $2.4 billion to the economy, and supporting more than 17,000 jobs,” said CRPVic CEO Scott Parker.
“This decision is a testament to the resilience of our park operators, who have continued to invest in their visitor experience and affordability despite facing unfair, anti-competitive conditions for the past six months.
“We will continue to work with the government to ensure the regulations which apply to our member tourist parks across the state also apply to Victorian government sites for the benefit of all who enjoy the great outdoors.”
CRPVic also welcomed several new initiatives in the Budget, including:
Increased funding to speed up planning approvals,
Business support for the Grampians post-fire recovery,
Support for Regional Tourism Board partnerships, and
A new Future of Housing Construction TAFE Centre of Excellence for modular housing.
“These include practical steps that can help unlock millions of dollars in stalled investment across regional Victoria,” Mr Parker said.
“Too many locally manufactured cabins, glamping tents and housing units are currently unable to be ordered, manufactured, installed or approved for accommodation having been stifled by outdated, unfair, and inconsistently applied planning rules and regulations. There’s a real opportunity here to accelerate job creation, tourism investment, and housing supply through reform that will support caravan park owners, accommodation manufacturers and local visitor economies, including extending VicSmart planning processes to registered caravan parks.”
