Nambucca Valley Council demands holiday park revenue transparency

Nambucca Valley councillors have unanimously voted to challenge the NSW Government and state-run operator Reflections Holidays over the management of local Crown reserves.

The motion, which was passed on Wednesday, August 26, highlighted how millions of dollars in locally generated tourism revenue leaves the valley and calls for immediate action on overdue management plans.

Moved by Cr Jane MacSmith, the resolution followed revelations the Nambucca Valley’s two Reflections holiday parks – Scotts Head and Nambucca Headland – generated an estimated $22 million in gross revenue over the past seven years.

Reflections operates as a statutory Crown land manager overseeing 40 holiday parks statewide.

Despite reporting $89.3 million in revenue for the 2024-25 financial year, its surpluses are pooled centrally with no requirement to reinvest proportionately into host communities.

“The economic value is generated here, leveraging the beauty of our community and coastline, but there is no mechanism ensuring a reasonable proportion comes back here,” Cr MacSmith said.

Under statutory rules, Reflections parks pay a mandatory 5 per cent levy on gross operational revenue to the Crown Reserves Improvement Fund (CRIF).

Documents obtained by Cr MacSmith via a Government Information (Public Access) request reveal the two Valley parks contributed at least $740,516 to the CRIF over the past four years.

However, during that same period, only one grant was awarded within the Nambucca Valley local government area: $33,528 to Reflections Scotts Head for weed management – an operational expense locals argue should be covered by the park itself.

In contrast, more affluent and larger councils secured major CRIF grants, for example, $1 million for jetty upgrades to Coffs Harbour City Council, $1 million for Newcastle City Council, and $500,000 for Northern Beaches Council.

Council acting general manager David Moloney noted the Valley had previously secured smaller CRIF grants between 2014 and 2021 but applications in recent years had been unsuccessful.

Council is currently awaiting a decision on a $113,850 application to upgrade the Black Rock pedestrian footbridge at Nambucca Heads.

The motion also addressed long-standing planning failures, noting the Scotts Head Plan of Management, adopted in 2014, missed scheduled reviews in 2019 and 2024.

Meanwhile, a separate Scotts Head Master Plan is currently in its fourth phase, reviewing community feedback from July.

Public frustration over the reserve’s management has sparked a petition, which at the time of writing, had more than 520 signatures.

Scotts Head resident Briony Magoffin criticised Reflections for a lack of proactive maintenance across the 40-hectare reserve.

“We shouldn’t have to keep reminding Reflections that it is their responsibility to manage the whole area, not just the caravan park,” Ms Magoffin said.

Speaking at the Council Public Forum, Scotts Head resident Claire Forbes said the current model unfairly burdened smaller councils managing high visitor numbers.

“It is interesting because Reflections is a social enterprise, but it doesn’t behave like any social enterprise that I have ever seen, where you would reinvest into specific places,” Ms Forbes said.

Cr Ljubov Simson echoed the community sentiment, admitting she previously assumed Reflections was a commercial operator rather than a state-run entity.

To address the revenue drain, the council will investigate the Macleay Valley model used by neighbouring Kempsey Shire Council.

Kempsey acts as the Crown land manager for its five holiday parks and contracts out operations, allowing it to ring-fence $4.5 million in annual revenue to maintain local reserves without relying on ratepayer funds.

The motion also follows the recent, unpublicised demolition of a public building at Nambucca Headland under staff delegation.

Following the unanimous resolution, Nambucca Valley Council will formally lodge its demands with Lands and Property Minister Steve Kamper and the Reflections executive.

By Lani GREENHALGH