Cr Brennan said council had received a number of complaints this week about people using free camping facilities in the local area, particularly local forests.
Council is working with the relevant authorities — National Parks and Wildlife Service or Forest NSW — to determine whether the use of these facilities is within the guidelines handed down by the Federal Government.
Cr Brennan said while he acknowledges not all people in caravans have another home to go to, anyone choosing to camp rather than self isolating at home should think again.
‘‘Is that really what we want in this difficult situation?’’ he said.
‘‘I would hate to see someone come in with the illness and pass it on.
‘‘And then there’s the pressure it puts on our already depleted services and supplies.
‘‘Some of these camping sites have no water, sewerage or power to sites, so we want to know if they are being compliant with government directives in regards to COVID-19 and following forest rules.
‘‘I have always enjoyed my Easter breaks too, but we have never been in a situation like this before.’’
Cr Brennan said when he was first alerted to the issue on Monday, he counted 35 campers at Willoughby’s Beach. He was unsure if others were camping at other spots in the forest.
Deniliquin resident Alison McNamara said she was angry to see so many campers packed in ‘‘shoulder to shoulder’’ at Willoughby’s.
‘‘We’re encouraged not to leave our homes, but because they are on four wheels they can go where they like,’’ she said.
‘‘These people are coming in and using our commodities, our bakeries and supermarkets and they are unchecked — we don’t know who they have been in contact with or if they have just returned from overseas.
‘‘For us oldies, it is very worrying.’’
In light of the non essential travel restrictions, Deniliquin BIG4 Holiday Park owner Frank White said he and wife Lynda chose to voluntarily close the park from this week.
‘‘Given the direction there should only be essential travel, we are of the opinion people should not be coming to Deniliquin for holidays,’’ Mr White said.
‘‘We called everyone who was booked with us to cancel.
‘‘Knowing our hospital system, and issues accessing doctors, it was not appropriate to bring people in while this is all going on.
‘‘This will hit us financially, hugely, and we expect we won’t be able to trade to our full capacity for six months, but we are trying to keep people safe.’’
Mr White said even with all the event cancellations over Easter, only four of the families who had booked to stay at the park had cancelled before BIG4 made the decision to close.
He said it was a good indicator for the future, that people want to come to Deniliquin regardless of the activities on offer.
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