July 2010

Region could take advantage of travellers: mayor

Council which barred 'vanners now believes they are valuable

A QUEENSLAND council which clamped down on caravanners free-camping in its area now says they might have something valuable to offer the region.

Despite pulling the welcome mat from under the wheels of travellers who prefer to save a few dollars by not staying in caravan parks, Bundaberg Regional Council now believes grey nomads could be an important source of skills and employment for the region.

The council makes the point in a submission to a Queensland Government inquiry into grey nomad tourism.

Mayor Lorraine Pyefinch and her council had previously criticised caravanners and other tourists, many of them from overseas, who attempted to overnight for free in certain areas of the region.

It caused an outcry from furious caravanners who attacked the council when it banned them from the popular beachside Norval Park camping area, where families had holidayed for generations.

And recently, the council decided it would erect no-camping signs at Bargara and the carpark outside Turtle Sands at Mon Repos where the holiday park no longer caters for caravanners.

Cr Pyefinch said: "Apart from developments approved under the council's planning scheme and council-owned and privately-owned commercial caravan parks in the Local Government Area – and the roadside rest area at Sharon Nature Park – there are no other locations designated as camping grounds and as such any camping is unlawful ... whether in cars, tents, caravans, camper trailers, motorhomes or in the open."

But she now says the region could take advantage of travellers, who offered an "untapped" source of skills and employment.

"It is our observation that grey nomads generally have a wide range of skills that could be of use to people in isolated rural communities, perhaps on a volunteer basis, and that most grey nomads try to experience all that our region has to offer before moving on, extending their stay if there are activities of interest," she said in her submission.

The Mayor believed that the sometimes "unique and always genuine skills and experience" of grey nomads could be effectively used through an active volunteering program.

"Community service and non-profit groups would appreciate the opportunity to work with and utilise the skills of visiting grey nomads to further develop and implement their respective services, also providing grey nomads with a greater sense of worth and belonging," she said.

Caravanning News spoke to caravanners at the Queensland Government's Main Roads-controlled Gin Gin rest area, which is located on the Bruce Highway within the Bundaberg Regional Council area.

Victorian grey nomad Allen French said he had heard reports of how "unfriendly" Bundaberg was to people who preferred to save a little money by free-camping.

"Word gets round very quickly among us travellers," he explained. "One caravanner told me he had been into the information centre in Bundaberg but was told the council frowned on travellers who do not stay in their caravan parks."

And NSW caravanner Kevin Foster told us: "Just how patronising can the mayor be? First she apparently gives us the cold shoulder ... and then tries to welcome us with open arms when she realises we have something to offer.

"More and more towns are beginning to realise our spending power and are becoming RV-friendly. Maybe Mayor Pyefinch should take a leaf out of their book and provide us with more places where we can stay awhile without having to pay the high prices that some caravan parks are now demanding."