AS THE tourist season comes to an end in Katherine, the Town Council is reflecting upon a season in which they say a new “illegal camping blitz” worked to strong effect.
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“We do not have an exact tally of warnings and fines given, but we know that instigating a series of ranger patrols at early morning and in the evenings cleared some problem areas right out,” Katherine Town Council CEO, David Laugher said.
“The strategy we adopted over this last season was twofold - adding a strategic focus on tourist camping by employment of an additional, casual ranger to periodically blitz regular spots as they settled at night and again early in the morning.
“The second strategy was aimed at the influx of indigenous camping where we actively pursued those camping in primary areas in the CBD (Ryan Park, O'Shea Terrace, etc) through warnings and confiscation of camp gear left unattended,” Mr Laugher said.
At a Town Council meeting on May 22, at which several aldermen expressed their frustration with the continued presence of illegal campers in central locations, the “blitz” was discussed, and support expressed for a ranger to patrol early and in the evenings to issue warnings and $50 infringement penalties.
However, Mr Laugher said that the fining element had taken a back seat in favour of verbal warnings and negotiation with tourists.
“We’ve relied mostly on talking and doing this the positive way.
“We have to be cautious with this, because the message that goes out among tourists can be a negative one – one saying, don’t come to Katherine."
To read the full story, see the October 17 edition of the Katherine Times Newspaper.
