A Noosa resident has divided opinion with an angry post about a person taking up public parking spots by “camping illegally”.
The man, who did not want to be named in this article, posted a photo to a community Facebook page showing a car bearing an L-plate parked at Noosa Woods Bay.
The car had a rooftop tent that extended to a second parking space.
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“Early Sunday in Woods Bay with the carpark filling fast,” the man wrote.
“Come on council, get some teeth and get serious about this camping illegally business.
“This was not the only one overnight camping in the area and clearly not homeless.”
The post attracted hundreds of comments, with some people agreeing people should not camp there.
“Bloody frustrating for a local to get a carpark at the national park first thing in the morning when it’s full of reversed-in camper vans. Looks like a caravan park down there,” one person commented.
However, many people argued the man was being a spoilsport and campers should be able to use public land as they please.
“Why don’t you have a pop at the council for charging an absurd amount per night for a non-powered site at the caravan park?” one person said.
Other commonly expressed sentiments were “live and let live” and “they’re not hurting anyone”.
Noosa Council says parking at Noosa Woods has been banned between 10pm and 4am as part of a trial aimed at stamping out illegal camping.
“Parking officers, along with assistance from Queensland Police Service, continue to deal with those who flout the parking and camping laws with patrols conducted several times a day — including early morning and into the evening — and offenders issued with fines,” council told 7NEWS.com.au.
“As an additional deterrent, council is considering extending the overnight parking restrictions, increasing the fines, and employing other enforcement options, such as tow away signs, across all high-demand areas.”
More than 80 complaints have been made to the council this year about illegal camping, which attracts fines of up to $309.
Council said parking officers are trained not to target “people in genuine need due to rental and housing issues” in their enforcement of camping rules.