Man starts petition after proposal to jack up campsite rates in one Aussie state

A proposal to increase camping fees in NSW national parks would make camping more expensive than renting a house.

The NSW government has proposed introducing a six tier system that would make the rate for some campgrounds as much as $97 a night or $679 a week, compared to a three bedroom home that can be rented for $600 a week.

Filmmaker Michael Atkinson made the point in a social media video he shared from the Woody Head Camping Area in the Bundjalung National Park on the NSW North Coast.

“You can rent a three-bedroom house (down the road) with garage for $600, so it’s almost $100 cheaper to rent a three-bedroom house with garage outside the park, as opposed to a small patch of grass here in the park,” Mr Atkinson said in the video

“I counted 89 campsites on this map, that is revenue raising of $55,000 a week just for this campground, excluding the money that they make from cabins.”

In 2023-24, about 1.8 million people stayed overnight at 365 campgrounds located in national parks across NSW.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service developed a proposal “to make camping fairer” for visitors and address issues when people did not show up, known as “ghost bookings.”

A tiered camping fee system was developed with pricing based on services, facilities and seasonal demand.

A NPWS spokesman said more than 23,000 submissions were received during the consultation period.

“The NPWS invited feedback on a proposed model to introduce a more consistent and simplified statewide camping fee and booking system for the 365 campgrounds across NSW national parks,” a spokesman said.

“No decisions have been made on the proposal.

“NPWS will advise the public on the next steps once feedback has been considered.”

Mr Atkinson told NewsWire that before Covid booking systems were used for high use campgrounds, and about 70 per cent of campgrounds in NSW national parks were free.

He said a booking system was introduced to manage the infectious disease and it only cost $6, but because bookings were so cheap campsites would be booked out months in advance, then people would not show up.

Mr Atkinson said the government’s solution to prevent “ghost bookings” was to jack up the prices, but the proposed hike would stop low income earners from being able to afford camping and discourage young people from heading out.

“For people like me, you feel ripped off that you’re going to a public space in a park that we own, and paying what I think is a significant amount of money just to camp on our own land effectively,” he said.

Mr Atkinson said a better solution would be to increase the number of campgrounds that were available at the sites which would increase grass space and remove undergrowth that clogged national parks.

Mr Atkinson started an epetition to let the NSW government know how many people were against the proposal.

The petition titled Keep camping affordable for all Australians in NSW National Parks has already received support from more than 7600 people.

He also has support from the Nationals and people living outside of NSW who have been contacting the NSW environment minister directly.

Opposition tourism spokesman Kevin Anderson said in a statement the decision would put some of NSW’s most-treasured natural assets behind a paywall in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

“When I asked the Minister for Tourism about this in Question Time last month, he refused to acknowledge the issue, despite the heavy impact it will have on the tourism sector by deterring people from wanting to camp in our National Parks,” he said.

“The Minns Labor government needs to go back to the drawing board and find better ways to save money than hitting hardworking families who are just looking to get out and enjoy nature.”

Scott Barrett MLC said National Parks should be more accessible for everyone.

“This proposal will put camping out of reach for many families and that’s why I believe it’s important to support Outback Mike with this petition,” he said.

“Some of my favourite moments have been spent with my family in our state’s iconic national parks and limiting those experiences for other families based on cost is extremely frustrating.”