Locking the public out of Tabourie Reserve

Holiday Haven Tourist Parks are located on Crown Reserves throughout the Shoalhaven.These camping facilities provide a huge amount of dollars into Councils revenue, so at Tuesday nights meeting when it was suggested that we lock the public out of the reserve by installing a boom gate to protect the paying customers and keeping the car park private, there was only one response that needed to be given- NO.

Instead of going down that simple path, I had to convince at least 6 others that this was a bad plan.

The facts emerged as the debate went on.

No Community Consultation had taken place,
No existing boom gate at the facility that blocked the road (even though Councillors were told there was).
No other parking was available to the public that is family friendly access to both the lake and Wairo Beach.

Councils across NSW have been given license to operate caravan parks on crown reserves, one of the conditions of the license is that they provide camping areas and not have the majority of the parks swallowed up by private vans and council cabins. This historic decision supported equity for all people no matter how big your wallet. The very idea of Crown Reserves in my opinion is the essence of public access.

The argument against the boom was strong, and we at least now have a commitment to consultation before any further action is taken.

Common Sense saves the day!