There has been a lot of discussion and an alarming level of misinformation about pending changes to the Victorian Land Act which would allow regulations to be written to enable camping on some areas of public land which are subject to grazing licences.
There are very few issues around land access in Australia on which there is an absolute right and an absolute wrong. This is no exception. There are some graziers/licencees with concerns which are legitimate, well founded and which will need to be properly addressed in the regulation which is to follow. There are, sadly, considerably more landholders who have fallen foul of a deliberate misinformation campaign being perpetrated by people who do not want to cede any ground on this issue - an understandable motivation, but not a viable one when it comes to public land.
The problem with misinformation campaigns is that the misinformation remains long after the campaign is over. When people who are opposed to progress make false claims (or allow people to believe things which aren’t true) the real danger is that the false impression continues in the community.
A bill, currently before the Victorian Parliament, which would change the Land Act to enable camping on licenced water frontage will, in fact, make no changes to conditions on the ground. What it will do is enable the Government to write regulations which will enable better access for camping where it makes sense to do so. Our experience over many years is that regulations are made with consideration for the views of all stakeholders and that there is an opportunity for genuine concerns to be properly considered and addressed. There are processes which must be followed and even an independent Commissioner for Better Regulation who advises on and oversees the process. In launching a misinformation campaign on this issue, the Victorian Farmers Federation are attempting to stop good regulation from happening. They have two stated preferred positions – maintaining the status quo and, failing that, putting the power over who gets to access public land in the hands of private agricultural businesses.
There are a number of key points worth noting about what the eventual regulation will and will not do.
The bottom line is that the changes will enable camping on some areas of crown land where access for recreational activities (mostly fishing) is already allowed. As is the case now, access will be from public roads or adjacent public land.
The areas subject to these changes are “licenced” for livestock grazing – they are not “leased”. This is an important distinction – a lease is charged at commercial rates and gives its holder similar rights to that of the owner of freehold land. A licence is for an activity (i.e. grazing), explicitly does not give its holder exclusive access and typically attracts a nominal fee (currently $68 per year).
It is true that some campers over the years have done the wrong thing – it is also true that some licence holders have illegally blocked off access to Crown Land to the extent of locking gates and erecting misleading signage.
Farmers from across Victoria have expressed fear about these changes on the basis that they would force them to allow access over their private property – their concerns are sincerely held and very understandable, but they are also baseless. It arguably suits the agenda of the people who want to block good regulation to have this false impression in the community, but it’s dishonest and divisive and it should not be allowed to stand. If all you cared about was winning this single issue you might attempt to justify these actions as "ends" justifying "means" - but these are real people and the divisions being needlessly created will last long after this storm in a teacup is forgotten.
Unsurprisingly the “boogeyman” of firearms has been waved in front of decision makers in an attempt to (much like some irresponsible graziers cattle do in our rivers) "muddy the waters" on this issue. The reality is that these changes would not allow hunting or the use of firearms anywhere that they are not allowed today. A part of the motivation for ADA being so active in this campaign is to send a message that deer hunters are tired of being thrown under the bus by lazy lobbyists.
The VFF have even attempted to tie camping access on public land back to Victoria’s workplace manslaughter legislation. The claim is of course fanciful and unfounded, but it is indicative of both the level of misinformation and the absence of a sound argument at play here.
There is really not much in these changes directly for hunters, but the principle of public access to public land is one which is critical for the growth and continuation of all of our active outdoor recreation activities. We cannot allow lies to stand and we certainly cannot allow reasonable access to be blocked because of them.
We have been active in the media on this issue, supporting our friends in fishing and, more importantly, the principle of public access. You can read a recent newspaper article here or listen to an interview on the ABC here.
The Victorian Coalition have, very disappointingly, indicated that they will both oppose these changes and move amendments which would effectively neuter them and which would reward the fear campaign and punish public land users. That means that this decision will be decided by the Crossbench in the Victorian Upper House. We have made it very easy to contact the Crossbench MP’s and lend your support for the truth CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE CAMPAIGN
