Mr DEAN (Windermere) - Madam President, Daniel Geale, a Rocherlea boy - I have arranged a welcome home to Daniel Geale on 17 June at Launceston and hopefully the member for Rosevears will be invited to that function.

This morning I want to raise the issue of the closure of the Bellingham Camping Ground. Many here would not even know where Bellingham is.

Ms Rattray - I do.

Mr DEAN - It is on the pristine north coast of the State, next door to Weymouth, and if you do not know where Weymouth is, I suggest you get a map of Tasmania and have a look at it.

Ms Rattray - It used to be in the Apsley electorate.

Mr DEAN - It is a very popular camping site, made more popular because it has provided free camping, a position that is gradually disappearing in this State, unfortunately. It is, or was, a popular camping site with many interstate people, apart from the many Tasmanians returning to this site annually and at other times. What is frustrating for the campers - and there is one person representing many of them, Mr Rex McKercher, who would be known to the member for Apsley - is that there is a limited number of irresponsible campers who have caused the department, Crown Land Services, to take the draconian step of closing the camping ground, a ground that has been opened for about 63 years. It is an easy way to fix when many good people are penalised. I think it is too easy a fix, to be quite frank.

It is disappointing that in this case we have another example of a limited number of yobbos, recalcitrants, influencing negative change - closing off a public camping ground that has been enjoyed by responsible campers, as I said, for 63 years.

I wrote to the minister, Mr Brian Wightman, on 11 January 2011 pleading with him to cause a proper inquiry before closing off the site. It was pretty obvious right from the start that it was the intention of Crown Land Services. I got a response back dated 11 March 2011, eight weeks later, and I thought that was pretty good for a government department response. That was until I later found out that Mr Geoff Lyons, the Federal member of parliament, wrote to the same department on the same item 10 days after I did and yet received a response three weeks later and five weeks before I did.

Ms Rattray - You are the wrong colour.

Mr DEAN - You are right. What this identifies is that their own party members are treated with respect and that others are treated contemptuously. What other conclusion can you draw? I find this approach despicable and disrespectful of this Parliament. In part, the response said that the public had been invited to make comments and that 12 had responded; there were six supporting closure and six others not supporting closure. I might add that a petition was also provided, which was signed by many people - I am not quite sure of the number - asking the department not to close that camping site.

Ms Rattray - Ask the Examiner; they are good at counting numbers.

Mr DEAN - Yes, they are. In the response to me, it was also said that Mr Wightman did respond to me, as said at a certain time, and in that response he also said that George Town Council would be consulted in relation to the closure of that caravan park. The George Town Council elected not to be involved which was, to me, somewhat confusing.

The next advice I got was from some irate campers and people to say that the signs were up saying the camping ground would close. Further contact was made with the Minister's office as I was told on several occasions over about three weeks, a letter was on its way to me to tell me that the camping ground was closed or was being closed. That is, after all the people had already told me it had been closed and the signs were up. It will be fenced; this will keep the responsible campers out but I doubt that it will deter the irresponsible lot, Madam President.

The action taken here again is a classic example of how a small number are allowed to spoil an activity for the many others that enjoy that camping site, that free site. I can understand why Crown Land Services would chuck their frocks over their heads and close it off - because that was the easiest and least expensive approach. But neither I nor the many other good people give support to that attitude. Mr McKercher, in fact, offered to be the caretaker of that camping ground for free, and to keep it clean, to look after it, but his offer was ignored. Rex McKercher did the right thing: he stood up for his fellow campers and tourism in this State, but unfortunately once again we saw that irresponsible and anti-social element rule. Bollards were uprooted on a previous occasion when they attempted to control camping there, so I would suspect that this is not over by a long shot. I think there will be further issues on this, further media on this, and I will be interested to see just where this matter goes.

In concluding, I believe we are all entitled to be heard equally whether we be in a Federal or State position, opposition in Government or in the Legislative Council as independent members. I urge the minister to have a look at what happened in this instance.