Hon Tony Simpson MLA — Park changes bring tourists closer to nature

More holiday-makers will have the chance to camp in nature-based parks in Western Australia this year with regulations easing restrictions on their location now in effect.

Local Government Minister Tony Simpson said changes to the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Regulations 1997 allowed more nature-based parks throughout WA, offering families an affordable way to holiday and enjoy the State’s natural assets.

WA has 25 licensed nature-based parks, which are small-scale tourist accommodation in a natural landscape. Visitors can experience nature in a setting free from noise and artificial light. The rule that they must be 50 kilometres from a caravan park has been removed.

Mr Simpson said the new regulations required nature-based parks to meet consistent minimum standards wherever they were in WA, providing assurance for holiday-makers and encouraging greater investment in the industry.

“The new regulations define a nature-based park, where there was ambiguity before. They improve the minimum health and safety requirements and impose a responsibility on the owners to advertise limited facilities. Visitors will have greater clarity about what to expect,” he said.

“Operators wishing to establish a nature-based park will now have to submit a plan detailing how the park will be designed and managed, and the facilities available.

“There will more surety about what to expect from nature-based parks, and this is better for everyone – local governments, operators and holiday-makers.”

Nature lover Linda Blyth of Bunbury and friends have just spent the Christmas-New Year break camping and exploring Nornalup, Parry’s Beach and Gladstone Falls, in WA’s south, saying it ‘was a real treat to breathe the beautiful air’ and cherish the ‘serenity, swims and nature’.

The changes to the Caravan Parks and Camping Grounds Regulations 1997 were the result of a three-month consultation by the Department of Local Government and Communities with local governments and other stakeholders.