Ms BADGER – I understand Parks has a compliance team that look at nature-based tourism (NBT) operations, or more importantly, a lack of NBT operations, where shuttle bus holders might not have the appropriate tourism licence. That’s the nature-based tourism licence that people require. How does that compliance team work? Are they doing regular checks across the board? Is it just at key national parks where we have a vast influx of private tour operators, e.g. Mt Field and Freycinet? What are those compliance officers equipped with to do their job? For example, do they have recording equipment, or are they just handing out a type of knob, or do they have higher powers?
Mr DUIGAN – Again in that operational space, so Sophie, for you in terms of the compliance team, as such.
Ms MULLER – There is a central compliance team that sits within our landscape programs area. That team, I guess, does a number of things. They’re responsible for training authorised officers across the parks and reserve system. That’s I think around 200 or so staff that are authorised officers. They also lead operations in partnership with others such as Tas Police, for example, and pursue the sort of higher‑order infringements, et cetera, that are issued to people who are not complying. They would plan operations; they would have a compliance strategy that sort of determines priorities. They’re obviously a range of matters from simple non‑compliance with Parks pass, for example, through to more complex operations. We’ve had a particular focus on wood hooking, for example, this year.
As part of that, there is certainly work that occurs monitoring compliance of nature‑based tourism operators. Again, there have been a couple of areas of focus in the last year that have resulted in, I guess the first step is education ‑ making sure people understand what they need to be complying with and informing people as to their obligations under their licences.
Ms BADGER – To be clear, is that something that normally happens on the ground in the parks? Would, for example, a member of the compliance team be permitted to visit an NBT holder’s private residence to question them about whether they were or weren’t complying, or how they were using their NBT?
I just want to reiterate that second part of my first question ‑ I appreciate it was lengthy ‑ about what sort of equipment the compliance officers would have. Would they be permitted to have recording equipment on them? Happy to take that on notice as well.
Mr DUIGAN – No, we’ll try to get an answer for that, won’t we?
Ms BADGER – Thank you.
Mr DUIGAN – Andrew Harvey to the table, and your correct title?
Mr HARVEY – Acting General Manager of Landscape Programs. Yes, they are able to wear body worn cameras.
Ms BADGER – Are they permitted on a private residence or is their work exclusively within National Park zones? Private residence, of course, being to follow up someone who has an NBT licence, not just anyone?
Mr HARVEY – Yes, they can, if it’s justified under the act. If it’s within their powers, they can go to a private residence or, in the case I think you might be referring to, also the business residence.
