come on, wield your grey power!

well said, Ron!

yes well said ............
for a simple fact NZ is kinda broke and there is bugger all work over there, hence caravan parks are cheap, half of NZ's workers are here in Aussie land and as for Tazzie, it also is not very well off work wise ...........
I guess at the end of the day it is because of the "arrogance" of people that actually can WELL AFFORD to stay in places like these so called "expensive" parks that they have given up on the tourist and now focus on the better and "cleaner" dollars.
For your interest we spent a few days with a group of Savannah Way Gulf area business owners that incluided Hells Gate, Us (Doomadgee), Tirrannah Roadhouse, some from Gregory Downs, few from Burktown and others from around the Gulf area and the most interesting shift in business planning for the future is that there simply is NO MONEY in tourists any more, they simply are taking to much time and money and the returns are gone, nobody is spending anymore yet those that are on the road are very well heeled, most are looking at mining and exploration money in catering for them accomodation and food wise and that means shutting the doors to the travellers and as a traveller that SUCKS ........ but as a bussiness it is reality and we also need to earn a living, we are not alone as it is happening Australia wide.
I guess at the end of the day our caravan parks and remote roadhouses and towns need YOUR investment, dont invest and you WONT get the returns and when we shut the doors to outside people it will make touring this wonderful country a pain in the ass ... there are 4 along the Savannah Way in the process of making big changes just to stay afloat and not us as we are fine fhankfully as we dont need that line of income but the others used to rely on it ... sadly it will affect those of us that travel .......
Cheers
Joe

Hi Joe

These are very interesting points you raise. I have argued for some time that there is a real-cost to free camping (blog: Free Camping – What is the Real Cost? November 28).

One of the costs of ‘free or subsidised camping’ is that over time private sector investment in short-term accommodation for the travelling public will decline, we are already seeing this through the closure of caravan parks, and also is one of the reasons many are not investing in upgrades to current facilities. Let’s face it, if the local government is going to compete with you, and subsidise the real cost of providing the service via ‘free camping’ why would you invest more money in your caravan park? And this is one of the reasons some caravan park owners are now taking action against local governments for doing this.

But importantly, government subsidies generally lead to a fall-off in private sector investment, is very inefficient from a cost point of view, and means that we become more reliant on the government to provide the facilities and infrastructure we need. One only needs to look at the government sector track record on infrastructure investment in Australia to see that the travelling public will be the loser in the long-run if we continue to ‘stifle’ private sector investment.

You are at the ‘pointy-end’ of the tourism business and the recent forum you mention highlights precisely the point, that private enterprise is now moving away from providing tourism infrastructure.

We have developed an industry that has mass produced self-contained travelling vehicles, which have readily been accepted by an increasing group of travellers; however little consideration has been given to how these people will be accommodated. It is clear from many of the discussions on this forum, and elsewhere that people don’t want the full service caravan parks provide, but a cheaper alternative. No consideration has been given to who will provide this. Caravan Parks are unable to provide it at the cost many are willing to pay, but often in the argument against the price of staying in caravan parks little attention is paid to the actual cost of providing the service or the government requirements and regulations of providing it.

And as a footnote, Camps Australia has been a boon for the travelling public in Australia, I have one in each of my vehicles, but already we are seeing signs of stress on the free camping areas listed in the books. Often over-crowded, generally unregulated, and in many cases filthy. The old adage, give someone something for free and they won’t value it resonates loudly. Is this the infrastructure we want for the future?

Landy,
you have said exactly what happens.

Gone are the days where a park can just power a site and put in a tap. Now they have to have curb and channeling, proper drains for grey water, sealed roads and all the workplace health and safety in place.

Good instance is a small place called Guthalungra where I have pulled up for years to get a cuppa and have a chat. The servo used to supply the toilets for the rest area opposite until recently with the QLD government paying for maintenance and cleaning. They had enough of the free campers stealing the hand cleaner, toilet rolls and hand towels. I have asked before what these people put into the local community and the answer was, maybe a can of soft drink or a packet of chips twice a week.

Now the Qld government have built a toilet block for all to use that is FREE. Nothing is free so when people complain about rates, taxes and costs I hope they have a think about it

It seems everyone wants to do it for free but I wish they would realise what the total cost is to a region.