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A silver lining for tourism

Minister for Main Roads
The Honourable Craig Wallace
14/03/2010
A silver lining for tourism

Main Roads Minister Craig Wallace said regional Queensland could expect a bumper tourist season after the big wet, with grey nomads and other travellers out and about on the state's road network.

Mr Wallace said grey nomads would soon be a welcome sight on the state's highways and the Bligh Government was doing its bit to encourage more of them to hit the road.

"Today, I can announce we're going to spend $50,000 a year over the next three years to roll out more 'dump points' for our road travellers," Mr Wallace said.

Dump points are special disposal spots for travellers to empty toilet waste from their motor homes, caravans and boats.

"With dump points, grey nomads are able to visit more places off the beaten track, knowing they've got somewhere safe and secure to dispose of their waste," Mr Wallace said.

"More dump points mean more dollars for regional Queensland, with tourists spending money at take-away shops, corner stores, newsagents and petrol stations in small towns and communities.

"Every cloud has a silver lining. After the big wet, we can brace ourselves for another deluge - grey nomads and other travellers heading north, south, east and particularly out west to see the wildlife and wildflowers."

Mr Wallace said that over the past two years, the State Government had installed 22 dump points across Queensland.

"We've put them in Charleville, Coen, Duaringa, Rockhampton, Tambo and Yeppoon. We're about to roll them out in Aramac, Atherton, Augathella, Betoota, Chillagoe, Einasleigh, Jundah, Morven and Muttaburra.

"All up, we're going to install an extra 34 dump points around Queensland," he said.

Minister Wallace said the State Government would work closely with the Campervan and Motor Home Club and local councils to identify the best places for dump points.

Ken Kipping from the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia welcomed the announcement.

"Queensland has led the way with this initiative. Dump points are great for grey nomads and other road travellers," Mr Kipping said.

"There are close to 500,000 road travellers in Australia and our numbers are growing. Dump points are of great economic benefit to the state, especially to small towns and regions throughout Queensland.

"I'm getting really positive feedback from fellow travellers. They tell me they're able to head out off the beaten track without worrying about how to dispose of their waste.

"It's good news for the environment and good news for grey nomads," Mr Kipping said.

Permanent Link: A silver lining for tourism
Publish Date: 14 Mar 10

Article Contact Details

Queensland Government, Department of Main Roads :
PO Box 183, Gympie QLD 4570, Gympie
Phone: 07 5482 0333
Fax: 07 5482 0499

Comments / Have your say

More and more freedom loving cravenness' who wish to camp independently of formal caravan parks, are now travelling in vans that are self-contained. They have their own cassette toilets, fresh water tanks and the capacity to retain grey water and other waste either on board or in sealed removable containers. To cater for this trend and ensure that all of this waste can be disposed of responsibly, Councils and other authorities are providing dump points, Water taps and decent sized waste bins in towns around the country.
Also recognising this move to self-containment, a growing number of authorities are restricting the use of informal camping areas to (we call them independent camps) self- contained RV's. Many authorities, in an effort to encourage RV travellers to stop and spend in their towns, are creating new short term stopovers for self-contained RV's. They recognise that these stopovers attract money into their towns that might otherwise be spent else where. More dump points is agood start, and thank you.

B.McKenzie of logan

1 of 118th March 2010, 9.46pm
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