Very well written Phil.

I think we are wrong to think of the people who make decisions as foolish, they are just reacting to the voices they are hearing from their community. 

Thus the audience is not only the councils, but more the other people in the community who are missing out, then they will become a voice that the councils will also hear.  

Exactly. Very very well done a now to get someone to listen.

J C.

baute wrote:

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Good letter but I only agree in part. Freedom camping should not be restricted to the fortunate few who have had life opportunities to enable themselves to set up in expensive self contained vehicles. This letter is indicating that only those lucky enough to have had a life of opportunity to be allowed to freedom camp. It suggests that those that are backpackers are grubs. I have been on the road for the past month freedom camping in the back of a ute. I have left no trace. I am appalled at the attitude towards those less fortunate. I have met people who are disconnected from society through mental illness, age and are eeking out survival on the road in old caravans, tents,trailers as they try to survive. These people deserve the right to camp and survive as much as the wealthy retirees. The backpackers I have met spend enormous amounts of money in tourism and general living As much if not more than the wealthy retiree. I was appalled at three free camps set up in Kingston south australia for "self contained " vehicles. They had flushing loos, electric hand dryers and one had hot water . Now tell me why do self contained vehicles need these luxuries ? The lobby for self contained will only drive those less fortunate to camp hidden in the bush as they are not to be seen using the facilities for the elite. Yes freedom camping should be developed but not at the expense of those struggling to survive often through no fault of their own. Basic study of sociology will inform one of life opportunity based on experience,education and job opportunities. Some people do not ever get to achieve to any level and as a society we should not be discarding people to the scrap heap. Sorry Phil but I am passionate about a fair go for all.

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Gday...

I agree that your letter of representation is well written and paints a good picture of many Grey Nomad travellers. It is a laudable attempt to get 'a different message' to the councils and communities that are struggling to come to grips with the conflicting pressures of their communities and the travelling public.

However, I feel you are painting a fairly idealistic picture. Unfortunately, far too many travellers of this wide land are not as you paint - it is not just backpackers who have little respect for the 'camp' they sleep in and the community that provided it. I have been on the road full-time for just over six years. I have seen far too many of "my counter-parts" who are nothing like you depict. Many travellers do not spend $500-$1000 per week - speaking personally, I do not even have $500 as my total weekly income - let alone to spend in/at each locality I sleep near.

Additionally, I agree with baute's comments above. Despite the 'modern' vans/motorhomes there are still a considerable majority who do not have the where-with-all to have anything more than a 10 year old (or older) rig and camp far more basically than the idealistic caravanner in your letter.

Despite all those comments, I do think forwarding your letter to councils/communities has considerable merit. Perhaps one word of advice if I can ... I think it will have more impact if it is a bit 'personalised' ... not just a "To whom it may concern" letter ... but specifically addressed to the council/s you are targeting. Bulk mail-outs without specific mention of 'their' council will be treated as a 'junk mail-out'. Just my opinion.

Cheers - and strength to your arm - John

The Fallacy of Free Camping by Phil Warrick
As the growing army of grey nomads spend more time in their motorhomes and caravans using their retirement to explore Australia, there has been a backlash by some groups who feel that their facilities and goodwill are being abused by a certain group of these freeloaders. There is an argument by caravan park owners that these freeloaders are taking business from them by free camping. A number of councils have enacted bylaws to prevent overnight campers with signage and council inspectors issuing fines. There are indeed some compelling reasons to move people on including out of control campers leaving litter, lighting fires and disturbing the peace. There is also an argument from caravan park owners that they and their local community are losing revenue from free campers. This is where the fallacy begins. Councils who accept this viewpoint are simply lumping self-contained grey nomads and caravanners with back packers and others. They are indulging in short term thinking which is doing a disservice to their community. They are locking out a money tree that has taken decades to grow and linking a number of groups into one.

But are these retirees really freeloading or are they in fact freedom camping? My wife and I own a Motorhome. It is fully self-contained and was purchased from our superfund that was built from a lifetime of community service, hard work in the business and professional workforce, child rearing and saving for our retirement. We love to freedom camp. In fact we spend, approximately, $500 to $1000 per week to freedom camp. As an example, in July of last year we undertook a 5 week trip (of which we freedom camped 75% of the time and for the remainder stayed in caravan parks) from the Sunshine Coast, through Longreach up to Lawn Hill and across to Cairns and back down the east coast. We spent almost $5000 which was shared by a range of businesses, including caravan parks, along the journey. This is where the logic of the argument, that claims we are freeloaders who abuse council facilities across Australia, fails to recognize, and indeed capitalize, on the rivers of money which are now flowing along our highways and small country roads.

We are typical consumers. Of course some retirees spend much less or much more when traveling as determined by their circumstances and financial abilities. Whilst traveling, we buy groceries from the big chains, small independents, local bakers, delicatessens, corner stores and indeed the shop in the reception area of many caravan parks. We need fuel, car and motorhome parts, LPG, tyres and repairs. On every trip we buy presents for children and grandchildren. We replace hats, shoes, shirts, and watches to name a few. We purchase tours and rides as tourists which include; chairlifts, crocodile boat rides, reef excursions, dinosaur trails, cave tours, helicopter rides and anything else that takes our fancy as well as the purchase of souvenirs and mementoes and so much more. We eat in cafes, restaurants, coffee shops and takeaways. We buy from roadside stalls and we chat to everyone including farmers, shop keepers, police, other tourists and anyone else who has a good story. We never freedom camp without giving back to the local community, even if the purchase is simply an ice-cream . Because of our age and our upbringing as is typical of our generation, we are scrupulous about leaving no trace. (We are not backpackers) We carry garbage bags and at every stop, we clean up the immediate vicinity of litter and we clean up BBQ plates and tables after we use them. Many of my peers are participants in volunteer organization. We are involved in our local home community and often at the places we visit. On our journeys we have rescued wildlife and built fences for wildlife rescue centres to name a few. Remember fence aid for bushfire affected farmers? It was and remains a call taken up by many full-time and part time retired nomads.

The argument that we are not staying at the local caravan park and are thus freeloaders is a furphy. They have further argued that these freeloaders are causing them to lose business by not staying in their parks. The simple fact is that there are now more caravans and motorhomes in this country than ever before. Working off simple law of averages then the number of visits to caravan parks has and will continue to increase. Data collected by Tourism Tasmania shows that there has been An increase of 278 per cent in the manufacture of caravans in Australia since 1995. Tourism Research Australia (TRA) forecasts that nationally the total number of nights spent in caravan and camping accommodation will increase from 37 million to 45 million by 2020.

What is occurring however, is that many of us are become fed up with the approach that we are freeloading and are becoming antagonistic to some caravan parks and indeed some council areas. We simply will not visit and spend our hard earned cash in these areas. And that is a shame for the local businesses as many of us are cashed up consumers. This writer has had two experiences that typify this issue. In one case, after a previous visit to beautiful Ballina in NSW, we decided to return to spend money buying a wedding present and clothing in shops that my wife had previously visited and liked in preparation for said wedding. We arrived in Ballina at 4am after spending the night at a highway rest stop outside the shire area. (Freedom camp approved). At 6am I was in an argument with a council ranger who was trying to fine us for overnighting. We left the area and spent $945 in a different council area. We simply wont go back where we are not welcome. Alternatively we had never stopped in Ingham in the 40 years of travelling the East Coast. After hearing of a free camp allowing 48 hour stops for fully self-contained vehicles newly opened up on the south side of town, we stayed over for 2 nights heading north and one night heading south. All up we spent $421.75 over both visits on deli, grocery, bakery (great pies), laundry, and an electrical item. My neighbour at the camp bought two new tyres. We will return to Ingham to see more of the area and we will spend again.

Perhaps if councils are so concerned for their local business owners, then they should legislate to stop caravan parks from selling grocery items, fuels, LPG, acting as tour agents and competing against the local motel with the proliferation of caravan park luxury cabins. Given that they have a captive market; it could be argued that it creates an unfair advantage for local competitors. Of course we live in a free market and that would not be in the spirit of free enterprise. The fact is that caravan parks, fuel stations, grocery stores and the wide variety of enterprises of many regional areas should be working out how to attract the broad range of consumers (caravan park stayers and freedom campers) into their area. An understanding of the concept of self-contained freedom camping and identifying this group as a specific social entity and market, as opposed to free camping and thus providing facilities for the former, would be a huge advantage to any community/council with foresight and enterprise. Self-contained vehicles are a huge untapped and generally a wealthy market which is well understood in other countries e.g. USA. Australias councils, their enterprises, entrepreneurs and caravan parks all stand to benefit. Self-contained freedom campers will use a local caravan park as a part of their driving holiday. Sheer numbers will drive this when considering the phenomenal growth of the industry. Queensland registrations typify this with a doubling of registrations from 7226 in 2003 to 14630 in 2013. Nationally there has been an increase of motorhome and caravan registrations of 14.5% from 2008 to 2011.

For many rural communities who live with the vagaries of climate and market price changes for their agriculture etc. and as a group who at times face economic uncertainty, the growth of the traveling public into regional Australia as opposed to overseas should be seen as an economic opportunity. The freedom camper seeks a range of camping experiences. Many of us are more than prepared to stay in caravan parks as a proportion of our travels. We also desire to freedom camp utilizing our own resources in our self-contained vehicles and we welcome and reciprocate to the towns or communities who offer water or dump points by purchasing in the local area. Some enterprising councils or land owners provide campsites where only water or toilets are provided; with a small charge for the facility. Some councils place conditions on use such as 48 hour stays, or one week per month. There is no reason that with proper guidelines and monitoring these areas cannot be run effectively and appropriately.
Local caravan park owners do stand to gain from this growth. The Caravan and Motorhome Club of Australia (CMCA) notes that if one in 20 baby boomers decided to buy a self-contained vehicle and head off to see Australia, an additional 200,000 vehicles with 400,000 occupants will hit the roads and spend between $2-4 billion annually. To target freedom campers as freeloaders is foolish, short-sighted and simply serves to antagonize self-contained freedom campers who will then take their business elsewhere. The lobbying of councils who then broad brush this group as vagrants or freeloaders only serves to isolate their business enterprises and local communities from this section of the traveling public. We are loyal Australians. The vast majority of us dont party hard, nor do we drink and drive or leave litter in our wake. For goodness sake dont marginalise and drive us away. We were once who you are now. We were the workers of this great nation and now we seek to enjoy our later years and yet still keep giving where we can. We are all part of each others community of this Australia. We are, in effect, all locals.

phil.war52@gmail.com

Excellent letter Phil. Thank You!

Count me in for sure Phil. 

Aussie Paul. 

Philw wrote:

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~~~ SNIP

Don't forget though, I still need contact details. If we don't want to get pushed into forced stays in caravan parks due to some idiotic legislation driven by a powerful lobby group, we need to work together to respond. CMCA can't do it on their own.

Again, thanks for the honesty of replies.
Cheers
PhilW

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Gday...

This is a bit like "social media" .... everyone "likes" the idea (like petitions) but just click "like" and move on 

I think PhilW wants (needs?) contact details of councils that "we" have found that need a letter such as this to jolt them into further consideration, rather than him just sending it off as a blanket mail-out.

Unfortunately, I travel inland to small towns that have not, and don't want to, closed their camps that they provide at no- or low-cost. They welcome the traveller so I am not aware, personally, of any council I would like to berate, badger or attempt to influence.

Cheers - John

Philw wrote:

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Thanks for the post guys and yes John, there is some misunderstanding. What I am after are email addresses for shire councellors, Mayors, motoring organisation executives, small town newspapers and any other organisation contacts that any one mayknow who could influence a decision toset up freedom camp sites or appropriate bylaw changes. Have sent to CMCA.
Thanks Phil

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Ok Phil, I have several. Ballarat City Council, Geelong of course, and Ouyen caused me problems BUT the last time we were passing thru they had RV friendly sign as we entered from the West.

Aussie Paul. 

rockylizard wrote:

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Gday...

Ballarat has just opened up a new "free" camp - this is from the January 2015 Caravanning News 

Cheers - John

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I am aware of that John BUT the CP owners are up in arms a little AND it has no dump point. We live only a couple of kms from it and it is getting a steady flow of users. Fingers crossed. Definitely needs Phil's letter to go to them.

Aussie Paul.