LOCAL farmers may get their say soon enough on whether budding campers can set foot on a site only recently designated for riverfront camping by the Wannon River, near the Casterton Racecourse.

The State Opposition announced last week it would “give power back to landholders” and allow them to decide who could camp on riverfronts bordering their properties if elected to government in November, while increasing penalties itself for people who “flout the rules”.

The plans address changes made last year by the government to the Land Act 1958 to allow people to camp on designated sites for up to 28 days.

The Wannon River is one of 20 waterways statewide with designated camping sites, with two such sites within 200 metres of each other near Daleys Road, three kilometres from the Casterton CBD – both added to the list within the past month.

Signs identifying the site as being designated for camping have only been set up in the past two weeks.

The list also includes a number of sites on the Glenelg River near Dartmoor.

The possibility of being able to reject campers by properties would be welcome news for Michael Smith, who owns land by the designated site and is one of several farmers who have taken a fight to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, which set the regulations.

“They said we got no say,” he said.

“You never know what (campers are) going to bring – they could have footrot on their foot,” he said.

“What happens if a bull runs into them?”

However for fellow local farmer, Linda Logan, even the option of not permitting campers on the land does not go far enough to tackle biosecurity issues.

“We’re not happy at all – it shouldn’t be allowed,” she said.

“The whole thing should be completely stopped.”

Ms Logan echoed similar sentiments regarding risks for disease and livestock disruption.

“Biosecurity’s a major concern with weeds, footrot, foot and mouth (disease),” she said.

“(The campers) could’ve been at Bali last week.”

Opposition MPs including Lowan’s Emma Kealy and Western Victoria’s Bev McArthur have consistently been highly critical of the changes to riverfront camping regulations, calling the plan “absurd” and a “free-for-all”.

Ms Kealy said the Act’s regulations would be more “balanced” under a new government with landholder permission a pre-requisite to camping, but recreational users would otherwise still have “reasonable” camping access.

“However, changes would be made to include preventative measures against biosecurity threats and potential environmental damage,” she said.

“Penalties applied to those who breach the rules could also increase and include the potential for seizure of fishing and camping equipment, vehicles and vessels.”

Ms Kealy also said the suitability of sites already identified for riverfront camping would be reassessed, with existing leases reviewed to “enhance the experience” for fishers, campers and adjacent leaseholders.

“We know from discussions with affected farmers that e need to strike a balance between access to public space and the potential threat to our livestock industry,” she said.

“This policy provides better protection of waterways and land as well as protections for licence holders, their stock and property.

“For decades an informal system has operated with farmers allowing when asked – they don’t have a problem with that.

“But the current rules are a free-for-all.”

Last month, Ms McArthur had called for the government to suspend its “poorly considered” policy on riverfront camping and fishing, over fears of the risk posed by foot-and-mouth disease if it arrived into Australia from Indonesia.

“The Victorian Government plan to let anybody access farmers’ riverfront Crown land licence areas is now even more problematic,” she said.

“Farmers can’t stop people accessing these locations and every person who come onto farmland now is potentially a carrier of FMD – or at least considered that way.

“Once this highly contagious disease gets on a farm, it’s too late.”

The Victorian Farmers Federation had also called for a suspension of the rules in July, claiming continued public access to farmland could render strict biosecurity measures at farms useless.

A State Government spokesperson said last month there were no plans suspend camping and fishing on Crown land and farmers, Agriculture Victoria and the Victorian Fisheries authority had all been consulted on the regulations previously.

“Victoria continually prepares for biosecurity threats such as those posed by foot and mouth disease,” she said.

According to the spokesperson, camping at the designated areas had to be 20 metres, washing 20 metres and waste disposal 50 metres away from waterways to minimise biosecurity risks.