CAMPING at Mornington Peninsula Shire-run foreshore reserves at Rye, Rosebud and Sorrento continued despite COVID-19 outbreaks over the New Year period.
The shire says it has not changed protocols announced in late November to allow limited numbers of campers.
Campers were allowed in as from Saturday 2 January to avoid large gatherings over Christmas and New Year.
The shire’s property and strategy manager Nathan Kearsley last week said camping on the foreshores was “operating at about 40 per cent capacity and extra cleaning of the amenity blocks is in place”.
The shire was regularly reviewing its risk plan and making contact with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
“To date, there have been no specific updates or directives from the state government regarding camping,” Mr Kearsley said on Thursday 7 January.
Sally Baillieu, of Fingal, wrote to councillors expressing concern that the shire had not changed its decision to open the camping grounds “despite the change of [COVID-19] figures that were used to lift the ban in the first place”.
“State borders have been shut, and we are being forced to wear masks again and follow social distancing guidelines, yet campers are being encouraged to move in and socialise in small confined spaces and use shared bathroom facilities in an area that the rest of the population must access if we are to use the beach,” Ms Baillieu said.
“There are few masks down there, and despite [the shire’s] efforts, having to share bathroom facilities with strangers from across the state makes any efforts they go to virtually useless.”
Ms Baillieu was “definitely not against camping” on the peninsula, “… but I do question the economics of it, and the social costs that are not accounted While the economic benefits of camping on the foreshore – “a dubious cash cow” – could be a subject for future discussion with the shire, she was “most immediately concerned with the risk that the resumption of camping is putting us all in at the moment”.
The decision by the shire to allow limited camping was made after Victoria recorded 28 days of no locally transmitted cases of COVID-19.
The shire states that its main priority “is to keep our community safe this summer” and lists rules for wearing face masks and limiting visitors to homes as being additional restrictions since 5pm Thursday 31 December.
1 Comment
Yet again, full time Mornington Peninsula residents are exposed & subjugated to the risks of Covid virus exposure by the swarms of the non residential masses gathering on the foreshore & the occupation of holiday rental accommodation.
As a local resident l am “NOT HAPPY”
Let’s, just for a moment, consider yet again, the yearly ballooning cost to local rate payers of the additional public facilities cleaning & rubbish collection…costs which increase yearly.
Then, let’s just consider, all the rubbish left on our beautiful beaches & foreshores after the invaders depart….
It is staggering & it boggles my mind.
I’ve seen this happening every year for the last 15 years…