A Hunter four wheel drive association has called for calm amid the growing anger over access to off-road tracks in the region.
It follows the mass rally over the weekend which drew thousands of drivers.
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A Hunter four wheel drive association has called for calm amid the growing anger over access to off-road tracks in the region.
It follows the mass rally over the weekend which drew thousands of drivers.
It’s not only the 4WD access tracks that people re complaining about, it’s also the many camping areas that have been closed also. eg Stockton Beach, Myall Lakes, Watagans, Barrington Tops etc. While a small minority of 4WDers are irresponsible, most use the tracks for access to beaches and camping sites.
The 4wd council and 4wd association are out of touch with the 4wd community, many people have lost faith in both due their inaction to resolve these issues and basically just sitting on their hands too afraid to dispute parks decisions in case they burn their so called bridges. They wonder why they are losing more members than they are gaining each year! It’s because they do not represent the greater 4wd community. We will endeavour to move forward without their support or input as always. ~ Ros ~ All Aussie 4×4
The problem isn’t that Stockton is temporarily closed. The problem is that NPWS and the 4WD association don’t keep their word. All over the country gates are going up with no consultation for the people who use these lands and pay these Muppets wages. The job of NPWS is to manage this land for our use, not to continually lock us out with no explanation. If they put up a gate and said come back in 12 months no one would have a problem. Us 4WDers are the real conservationists. We want the land to be there for years to come so we can show our kids this great land like our parents showed us.
It’s about time NPWS started listening to the majority of ordinary Australians.
the association wouldn’t know the bush if it bit them on the arse there only in it for the money bunch of old farts that wouldn’t know what the 4wd community wants
The 4wd Assocation are tying hard to protect their interests, this does not include opening up parks for 4wd’ers that were at the rally as they told clubs under them to boycott the event… WHY??? Because they have arranged a back door with NPWS so if your a club that falls under the Association and make a “donation” you get a key to a track. This does NOT apply to folk who choose not to hand there hard earned over….
Prove me wrong?? Cause i know many that know this to be the truth, its also the reason i dropped out of 4wd clubs that support this behaviour.
I spoke to a mate from Sydney yesterday, he said he was unsure of the status of driving at Stockton so asked the Association about it, as he wants to organise some driver training at Stockton. They told him Stockton Beach was closed to 4WDs so he couldn’t do it. I referred him to the Worimi Conservation Lands webpage and his driver training is now back on! Just an example of the misinformation being spread out there.
People need to stop with the crap.
4WD NSW/ACT at no point banned or told it’s members to boycott this rally. So get your facts right on that one Dan.
Next, NPWS don’t just throw up gates without consultation. They issue a Plan of Management to public opinion and put it out there for several months. This is the time that anyone from the public can air their opinion on the matter. Once it closes, and the final draft is eventually made, it is then put into effect. NPWS are typically slow to react to their own Plans and usually takes them several years to erect the gates. Gates and closures occurring in the Watagans are from a Plan that was put out for public opinion in 2008. those gates have been 5 years in planning, 5 years has been plenty of time to voice opinions, yet so few take the time to do it.
Troy, you have NO IDEA how many people voiced their opinion about the draft management plan released in 2008, I and many other 4wders I know did exactly that, we (All Aussie 4×4 and Downunder 4×4 along with members on the then 4wd Monthly forum) offered to adopt a few tracks in the Watagans with Daniels Point Rd being our main concern, we were in talks with NPWS and they were progressing quite well with verbal agreements on both sides, all of a sudden the discussions stopped dead with no further response from NPWS… I am deadset certain it was the association who threw their 2 cents in and stopped the discussions… Ros ~ All Aussie 4×4
This is going on in Queensland too:
Rainbow beach driving attracts a fee: http://www.gympietimes.com.au/news/gibson-vows-continued-beach-fee-lobbying/1711777/
Well Ros again I believe you may be mis-informed. The WRITTEN submissions were reviewed by the Regional Advisory Board and recommendations made to the State Advisory Panel who made the recommendations to the then Minister. If you check the current POM you will discover who the Minister was who approved the POM.
All the review committees are dominated by conservationists with maybe 1 or 2 user groups represented if lucky.
The Association did not at any stage interfere with any proposals to adopt a track, it was actively encouraged.
To Warren, I can assure you that your friend was not informed by the Association, as notification of the temporary closures were discussed at a number of meetings (including the Hunter & Sydney Regions) of club delegates. If they were looking to access the high dunes for training as my club used to, then yes access was restricted. We now have found another suitable location to train our drivers as have most of the other clubs. Now maybe your friends club were not aware or did not attend those meetings?
The 4wd assoc is weak and disinterested. If they were genuine and stood up for 4wders rights they would have mass backing. Instead people keep walking away from clubs as they see no benefits. The fact the association seems to continually back npws says it all, maybe the name should be changed to “grey nomads who love npws assoc” ?
How often do you Rob Kelly go camping in national parks and get a first hand knowledge of what is going on? Not just sit back and quote NPWS media releases?