The Victorian Farmers Federation, VFF, has hit back against recreational fishing body VRFish’s push to open up more road reserves to give fishers better river access across the state.

As part of VRFish’s state election priorities it is calling for better access to Crown land through a ‘Roads to River’ program.

VRFish chair Rob Loats said recreational fishers had raised concerns with VRFish about less places to fish or that they could not access waterways due to former access points being fenced off or unknowingly blocking access to fishers.

“Victoria has hundreds of kilometres of crown land river frontage that is inaccessible to recreational fishers because they can’t cross private land,” he said. 

“Unused road reserves often provide important intersections between public roads and public river frontage providing vital access for recreational fishers.

“We want to work with the government and farmers in a pragmatic way to identify key areas to access our valued waterways. 

“If a particular track doesn’t work, let’s find one that does.”

But the VFF believes the program would ‘funnel recreational traffic straight through working farms’ and repeat the mistakes of the State Government’s Crown frontage camping changes. 

VFF president and Minyip farmer Ryan Milgate said the plan ignored that many of the reserves were ‘anything but unused’. 

“They run through the heart of family farms, where they have been fenced, grazed, cropped and cared for by landholders for generations under long-term lease arrangements,” he said.

Biosecurity risk

Mr Milgate said activating the corridors would create serious biosecurity, safety and management risks, with no clear benefit that could not be delivered through established public access points. 

“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,” he said.

“This is a serious biosecurity risk. 

“Every vehicle, boot and dog that travels down a farm track can carry weeds, soil and disease onto a property. 

“At a time when farmers are on high alert for emergency animal and plant diseases, the last thing we need is taxpayer money spent opening up uncontrolled access across farmland. 

“Add open gates, wandering stock, fire risk and the safety of the families who live and work on these properties, and you can see why farmers are alarmed.” 

Mr Milgate said the proposal was a repeat of a past concept to allow people more access to Crown land for camping, which he said ‘caused years of conflict, biosecurity worry and mistrust in the bush’.

The VFF is calling on all parties and candidates to rule out activating unused road reserves that cut through farmland, and to consult directly with the VFF, affected landholders and licence holders before considering any change in access. 

Mr Loats said VRFish was fully aware that farmers often allowed public access to Crown land, abiding by their licence conditions, and most fishers were respectful and aware they must seek permission to enter private property.

He said according to Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, DEECA, a licence over an unused road provided personal permission to enter and use the land for a specific purpose, but did not offer exclusive use to the licensee. 

“The sky won’t fall down every time someone goes fishing and farmers shouldn’t be pitted against fishers,” he said. 

“We should be working together to get the right outcome for all Victorians.”

Mr Loats said recreational fishing was an important tourism contributor to regional economies, with recreational fishers investing hundreds of dollars per trip in buying food, fuel and accommodation as they travel through regional towns.

The entire July 29, 2026 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!