Number plates to be photographed on Fraser Island as part of bushfire strategy

Campers on Fraser Island (K’gari) will have their 4WD number plates recorded this bushfire season as the Queensland government changes the way it manages the World Heritage-listed sand island.

About 400,000 campers now visit the island each year and more than 45,000 vehicle permits are issued each year.

Principal ranger Emma Barraclough operates automatic number plate recognition cameras on Cooloola National Park’s Rainbow Beach. A similar service is soon to begin on K’Gari, (Fraser Island) to track visitors.

Automatic number plate recognition was introduced at Cooloola National Park and on Bribie Island in 2020.

“DES [Department of Environment and Science] is now examining the use of number plate recognition technology on K’gari as a means of further protecting the environment,” a department spokesman said.

“While still under review, the current proposal is to install number plate recognition cameras at key access points to the island, providing more accurate vehicle count reports and enabling improved information on visitor patterns and emergency management responses.”

The move will come into effect “later this year”.

More than 80,000 hectares on K’gari â€" half the island â€" was savagely burned between October 2020 and December 2020 after an illegally lit campfire near Orange Beach in the largely inaccessible north of the island was let burn (page 14).

The Orange Creek bushfire was one of 170 fire incidents between July 2018 to December 2020 on K’gari reported to the department that led to 86 fines, the report notes.

Another idea being explored is adapting the Queensland government COVID-19 app to identify where campers travel on the island, or other national parks, and using mobile phone trackers.

Queensland’s Parks and Wildlife Service had no way to accurately identify how many people used K’gari, or where they are on the island, the Queensland’s Inspector-General of Emergency Services review of the Fraser Island bushfire found in March 2021.

One recommendation is to use automatic number plate recogniton and mobile phone checks to keep track of campers on Fraser Island.Credit:Queensland Fire and Emergency Services

Anecdotally 400,000 people visit the island each year, according to the Department of Environment and Science, which includes the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.

“There is currently no means for the Parks and Wildlife Service to ascertain the daily number of visitors to K’gari,” Alistair Dawson’s March 2021 report says clearly.

“The permitting system currently requires only the permit holder to register,” he said.

“The system does not require details of all parties accessing the island under that permit. This creates challenges in fully ascertaining the numbers and location of people on the island.”

Scorched land on Fraser Island in late November.Credit:George Seymour/Facebook

The investigation into the October-December 2020 bushfire on K’gari found Parks and Wildlife rangers drove from “campsite to campsite” to find and advise campers, the report said.

“Better use of technology such as automatic number plate recognition technology and other solutions to register people onto and off the island should be further examined to improve the responsiveness of issuing warnings to the public.”

The Department of Environment and Science says it is difficult to assess how many people are on K’gari.

It says the department issued permits for 1,311,984 camper nights over five years from July 2016 until August 2021, or more than 262,400 each year.

It also issued 3152 annual permits for 4WDs on Fraser Island and 226,761 vehicle access permits over the past five years, or an average of 45,353 vehicle permits each year.

However, K’gari is also be visited by private tour groups and there are two heavily booked private resorts on the island.

These operate independently and provide about 140,000 other visitors.

The Queensland government is now spending $5 million over four years to put in place the 38 recommendations of the Dawson Report into preventing further bushfires on K’Gari.

In Cooloola National Park cameras will be mounted on ranger patrol vehicles and random “compliance checks” ensure motorists have a permit.

The cameras scan vehicle registration plates and cross-check information with the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service booking system.

“On K’gari, the numberplate recognition system will have a primary role of monitoring vehicle movements so, in any emergency, rangers will know the number of vehicles on QPWS-managed land that need to be accounted for.”

Tony Moore is a senior reporter at the Brisbane Times

Bagikan Artikel ini