The facilities that we are supposedly paying for, were there and paid for by the locals, who have camped there and spent their money locally for the last 30 years or more and are being paid for by the campers and travellers that bring their money with them when they travel, we are paying but now we are being asked to pay more and again, won't happen, I can only vote with my feet by not going, that's what I'll do and maybe a lot of others as well, I'm a pension and travel in a small camper, I don't complain about the price of the ferry and the prices that skyrocket when the seasons come around, in Tassie I made it up in the free camps, without the free campers, there is no incentive to go, they obviously don't want the lower end of the market but there are a lot of us out there, ask John, (Yoeeleven) if he'll go if all the free camps disappear, we can't afford to pay everynight for somewhere to sleep, the last time I was there 2 years ago, I stayed for 3 months and spent over $3000.00, it all adds up.

Thank you sheba, it still doesn't work on my computer, one day we'll meet and you can show me how.

sorry it went through twice.

My feelings exactly Larry, we always pay, like on the roads with the tolls, excise and GST, but look at the conditions of the roads, when was the last time your user pay title, entitled you to any say on how the money is gathered or spent, once the fee is on, it stays, no matter where it ends up, certainly not where it was spent, that's for sure, I'm fed up with being milked and then abused without any benefit.

Kevin.

Thank you sheba, it still doesn't work on my computer, one day we'll meet and you can show me how.

Gday...

Thanks for the updated 'news'. As always with the "arms" of Govt, the left hand and right hand do not keep each other informed  (apologies for puns )

However, whilst, like Herbie, I can see the value of perhaps imposing a 'token fee' to sort out the freeloaders from the genuine and how that small income could be used to offset the 'running costs' (cleaning, repairing, mowing etc) of an area, I cannot help but remember the installation of electric BBQs that many councils all over the country installed years ago.

Remember them. Originally, one simply inserted a 20cent coin, pushed a button and the plate heated for a pre-set amount of time, when the coin 'ran out' simply insert another 20cent coin and continue cooking. It usually only took two, sometimes three, coins to cook up the tucker.

It did not take long before the damage to the BBQs by low-life types trying to steal the coin containers, and the cost of repair and cleaning of the plates left by thoughtless users, more than offset any financial gain the 20cent coins provided. All that revenue, albeit not huge, absorbed by administration and maintenance.

In many instances, the council simply disconnected the BBQ and in some instances actually removed them. This often resulted in lower patronage to the local park by locals and visitors to the area - resulting in some fall-away in revenue to the local businesses.

I am willing to be proven wrong, but the greater majority of these electric BBQs are still in use today and they are now free (i.e. no cost to the user) - because it is cheaper to provide the service at no cost than attract the high administration/maintenance cost of charging a small fee. Locals, and visitors, now use these facilities and the 'rub-off' to local businesses is still there. The community wins, including council from rates and fees it gathers from the increased patronage of their town.

Perhaps this is where the 'token small fee' for 'camping' at these places will end up - when the accountants stop looking at 'unbundled' costs of each item on the balance sheet and look at the 'big picture' we will see a complete circle on the application of 'fees'.

Cheers - and happy travelling - John