An outdoor influencer rallied against higher camping fees. 23,000 people responded
'They'd have to monitor the campsites more than they were, and then sometimes it was turning into fisticuffs, when people didn't turn up, but people still camped in their spots,' Crook said.
'There were a lot of issues, a lot of dumped rubbish, fires left alone, and the potential for bush fires. It looked good on paper, but in action with a park service that's so degraded and not looked after by the state, it was always going to fall in a heap.'
NSW has 360 campsites in national parks, as well as free camping in state forests managed by Forestry Corporation of NSW.
In NSW, the online backlash has centred on whether the fees for national parks are too high. While the proposal would introduce a free tier for a bare patch of earth, a basic campsite with a pit toilet would be $22 a night in high season, while sites with the most facilities – including a hot shower – would be $89 a night.
Atkinson, an outdoor creator whose video posts on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube have garnered millions of views, has been campaigning against the price rises. Now that submissions have closed, he has switched to pushing an online petition.
Atkinson acknowledged that ghost bookings are a big issue – a video he posted in July last year showed a campground in Kosciuszko National Park that was booked out, yet had four out of five sites empty – but said making camping unaffordable was not the way to fix it.
He recently posted a video about how the price to pitch a tent at Woody Head campground in Bundjalung National Park was more expensive than renting a three-bedroom house in the nearby town.
Atkinson said only about 30 per cent of campgrounds had a booking system before the COVID-19 pandemic, while most were free and first come, first served.
NPWS expanded the booking system to cover every campsite as a pandemic measure, though keeping prices for the formerly free locations low. Like in Victoria, the ease of online reservations increased 'ghost bookings'.
'They didn't have a ghost booking problem before COVID happened,' Atkinson said. 'The only way to make a booking system work is to make it expensive – but, if you do that, you block out anyone below middle income, and young people are just going to be completely discouraged, so that is a very poor solution.'
He said it would be better for the basic campsites to be free, without a booking system – a proposal NPWS argues would encourage people to physically block out campsites by erecting tents early. Atkinson said the practical hurdles kept this problem in check, and added that NPWS should expand campsite capacity to meet demand anyway.
Former NPWS park ranger Louisa Andersen, who posts content online as 'Ranger Louie' and is now based in Western Australia, said she had concerns about the prices.
'How are people meant to care about the environment and parks and natural places if they can't afford to experience it?' Andersen said.
'Rangers don't get discounts either … and I just can't wrap my head around or justify paying that much.'
Sergey Kolotsey of Baulkham Hills made a submission proposing to solve the ghost booking problem without raising fees by asking people to pay a deposit that would be refunded if they checked in using a QR code at the campsite.
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The NSW National Parks Association submission recommended merging the lower pricing tiers, since the costs of managing a wholly unserviced site, sites with pit toilets, and sites with pit toilets and a table were all minimal.
The non-government organisation expressed surprise that there was no benchmarking of best practice across the nation, since many bushwalkers and campers travel from state to state.
'Queensland and South Australia have simplified their fee structure and remain competitive with regional caravan parks,' the submission says.
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