Some years ago, the Queensland National Parks Service decided that bookings and payments for sites in national parks would be handled via the internet or by phone through a centralised system rather than self-bookings or registration with Rangers at a specific park. We travelled to northern QLD in July-August and again experienced the problems that this change has caused. I implore all people who
camp in national parks and want to retain reasonable access to write to the Minister responsible for Environment and
Heritage, National Parks and Great Barrier Reef Steven
Miles, MP, either by email or via the QLD Govt website www.cabinet.qld.gov.au Also, write or email the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at PO Box 15185, City East, Qld, 4002. We need coordinated protests to try and fix this system.
For those who have not used the QLD system, you book the dates and sites that you want at national parks on the internet or by ringing a 1300 number. Payment is made by credit card and a receipt is send by email.
From my experience and talking to both staff in QLD NP offices and people that travelled to a range of parks this year, the following problems are common;
1. When travelling in remote areas, people don’t have mobile phones or internet connections. It seems the assumption is that people staying in NP’s are sitting in an office or at
home!
Ranger stations and other offices that are supposed to provide bookings are very unreliable.
2. People don’t know when they will be at a particular park so book for say a week but only stay for 3-4 nights. This means that many parks/sites that according to the internet are booked out, are only half occupied.
3. People don’t know when they will arrive or are delayed and need to change their bookings. NP staff are tearing their hair out dealing with these problems. (A staffer I spoke with at length said she was absolutely frustrated but could not/was afraid to object due to the job losses underway in Qld.
4. People are travelling and need to stay somewhere. If they are effectively locked out of the main camping areas they will
bush camp probably without
toilet facilities leading to obvious problems.
5. People who have booked a site find that when they arrive, it is already taken. There are no rangers present so what can you do?
6. The website does not work very
well (I paid online but the system froze and did not complete the transaction). Also, the NP staffer told me not to use a mobile phone as the call could cost $10-20 due to waiting times. If an overseas traveller traveller is using a credit card to book 1-2 nights, it could cost more in bank fees than the camping cost.
Premier Palaszczuk has said often that her government will listen to the people so this is a chance to talk to the QLD government and tell them to go back to first in, best dressed policy.
What to do? If you have had personal experience good or bad with the new Qld system please add your comments to this post. If you feel strongly about the matter, I encourage you to write or email as discussed above.