A proposal by peak recreational fishing body VRFish to open up “unused road reserves” for public waterway access has drawn swift pushback from the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), reviving a long-running regional debate over landholder privacy, biosecurity, and public land use ahead of the state election.
VRFish is calling on the State Government to partner with anglers and primary producers to activate unused road reserves that intersect public roads and Crown land river frontages, arguing that hundreds of kilometers of public rivers remain functionally inaccessible across regional Victoria.
VRFish Chair Rob Loats said growing numbers of recreational fishers face diminishing access as traditional entry points are fenced off or unknowingly blocked.
“Victoria has hundreds of kilometres of Crown land river frontage that is inaccessible to recreational fishers because they can’t cross private land,” Mr Loats said.
“Unused road reserves often provide important intersections between public roads and public river frontage, providing vital access for recreational fishers.”
“We’re not asking for vehicle access past farmhouses or sheds, but we want meaningful, commonsense access points to go fishing while enjoying our natural environment,” he added, saying that recreational fishing generates substantial tourism revenue for
regional towns.
However, the VFF has rejected the proposal, warning that activating these corridors would funnel public traffic directly through working agricultural properties and repeat friction caused by the state government’s controversial Crown frontage camping reforms.
VFF president Ryan Milgate cautioned that many so-called “unused” roads are integral to active primary production, having been leased, fenced, grazed, and maintained by farming families for generations.
“Recreational fishing is a great Victorian pastime, and farmers are happy to share the bush, but ‘roads to rivers’ is the wrong way to go about it,” Mr Milgate said.
“Many of these so-called unused roads run through the middle of working farms that families live on and care for, and turning them into public thoroughfares would create real problems.”
Mr Milgate highlighted serious biosecurity, stock control, and safety risks, noting that unmonitored vehicles and foot traffic can transport noxious weeds, soil pathogens, and livestock diseases onto clean agricultural land.
While Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) guidelines state that a license over an unused road does not grant exclusive use to the licensee, the VFF is urging all political parties and candidates to rule out activating reserves on agricultural land without comprehensive direct consultation.
Both organisations maintain that fishers and landholders should not be pitted against one another, though they remain divided on how public access should be balanced against private property rights.
“The sky won’t fall down every time someone goes fishing, and farmers shouldn’t be pitted against fishers,” Mr Loats said.
“We should be working together to get the right outcome for all Victorians.”
In response, Mr Milgate reiterated that any future access enhancements must be directed through established public entry points rather than active farm tracks.
“Farmers are not the enemy of fishers, but you cannot improve access by creating a new set of problems for the people who live and work on the land,” Mr Milgate said.
“Our message to every candidate is simple: talk to us first.”
