Outrage is growing among some landholders, as the state government prepares to open nearly 26,000 kilometres of Victorian's crown land water frontages to campers.
As part of its 2018 'Fishing and Boating' election commitments, the state government said it would 'guarantee access to fishing and camping on Crown land that has river frontage' to further encourage families and friends to spend time together in the outdoors.
Legislation to amend the Land Act to permit camping on crown land, adjacent to watrerways, is currently before the Upper House.
But VFF Land Management Commitee chair Gerald Leach said farmers were trying to convince the government it was the wrong way to go.
"Our position is that we believe it's a really bad move," Mr Leach said.
"It places licence holders in a very difficult position, things can be going on on their land, they are not aware of.
"It increases biosecurity risks, quite significantly, in terms of letting exotic animal diseases in."
He said he felt the push was motivated by political deals, done behind closed doors.
"It would be like somebody renting a house, in suburbia, but being told they couldn't come and stop someone camping, and having a picnic on their lawn," he said.
"We would certainly hope common sense prevails, but we have been given no indication yet, that will be the case."
VRFish executive officer Mike Burgess said changes to the law would be followed by regulations.
"There may be some areas that are not suitable for camping," Mr Burgess said.
"But those areas that are will offer a great opportunity for getting people out and about, relaxing, whilst they are fishing."
He said currently public access was already mandated in those areas anyway.
"From our point of view, we will obviously be encouraging everybody to do the right thing," he said.
"We will certainly be backing it up with a code of conduct, as to how we want our fishers to respect the area, respect the adjacent landholders and also the environment they are stepping into."
He dismissed claims campsites would be set up on all of Victoria's 26,000 kilometres of waterways.
"In reality, you will find there are some really great spots identified by recreational fishers, that tick all the boxes for a suitable camping location," he said.
"I don't think we are talking about 26,000 campsites, dotted around every river and stream."
Worse problems
Opening up Crown land would worsen problems with littering, vandalism, and biosecurity, say farmers who would be affected by the proposal.
Beef producer Stuart Gilmore says he's on the Goulburn River, between Lake Eildon and Alexandra. The family also has land on the Rubicon River.
"People are pretty unapproachable now, they might not have the respect, they had 20 or 30 years ago," Mr Gilmore said.
"If I went and told someone to move, I am pretty sure I would end up in the Goulburn River myself."
He said his greatest concern was the amount of rubbish, faecal matter and general pollution that would be left behind by campers.
"We are only about 100 metres from the river," Mr Gilmore said.
"Day-tripping is fine, we put up with fishermen, but camping would change how it works.
"We enjoy people having a good time, but all of a sudden you'll have people who are drinking, they leave their rubbish, there are no toilet facilities and they bring dogs, which attack sheep."
In the past, he said he had at least six sheep, killed by dogs.
He said 80 per cent of visitors were fine but "there's 20 pc that make it difficult.
"I do let people camp on the Rubicon River, we let fishermen walk along the Rubicon, that's fine.
"Most fishermen are very good, they are very easy to deal with.
"It gets worse when people are camping, it brings grog into the picture.
"The act says they can remain in the area, and they could be there for weeks, and I couldn't do anything about them."
He said another big issue was fires.
Due to the lack of tracks brigades sometimes couldn't easily reach a fire.
The proposal didn't take into account the lack of boundaries, between farm and crown land.
"When you have private land, adjoining a crown frontage, its an invisible line.
"No-one knows where the boundaries are, there is no fence to say, what's yours and what's mine.
"I would be constantly policing which side of the boundary they should be on, and I don't think that should be up to me."
He said he was also concerned about who was responsible for public liability insurance, if someone was injured, while biosecurity was also a massive issue.
Biosecurity fears
Dane Martin runs a large beef enterprise at Macallister and on the Ovens River, turning off fat cattle for the supermarket trade and feeder steers.
"We've always had trespassers, but we don't have a problem with the fishermen," Mr Martin said.
"It's with the people who drive in from national or state parks, is where we find problems," Mr Martin said.
'We've had gates left open, and stock wandering out on the road.
'We generally have to chase people off - they don't really take kindly to that, some of them get very agitated."
"It's not a pleasant thing at all."
Camping would make it a "whole lot worse."
He said many rivers didn't have tracks along them, or down to the riverbanks.
"The other critical part of this is the biosecurity threat, we have all got signs up on our gates, stating you have to ask for access to the land.
"We don't know if they are going to bring in weed seeds, or a dog, or what?
"It undermines any quiality assurance schemes we are in, in that we have to provide safe food.
"They haven't thought of this at all, apart from the votes they might get."
Security concerns
And a woman living on a creek in north-east Victoria, who wanted to be known as Betty-Jo Smith, said the changes could result in changes she and her husband had made to encourage biodiversity would be lost.
"As we abut a state park, we have had experience with hunters," Ms Smith said.
"A few years ago the government as going to introduce a deer strategy that favoured hunting..... I think this is a backdoor method to get their way.
" Like USA the hunting and shooting fraternity have a lot of sway.... and political clout for minority governments."
She said she, and her husband, also feared for their safety and property.
"At the height of the deer stuff several years ago a farmer approached a group of hunters, who were on the edge of his property - they threatened to return in summer with 'the red heifer' - that means set his property on fire."
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