Originally Posted by
William W
Understood, thanks.
The fellow who made the video appears to me to be a professional photographer (with a crew too).
By the way, the video mentions that in the park you can hold "other activities" such as a yoga class . . . I know that in Sydney and Melbourne doing so attracts the same type of fee, that is if the yoga instructor is engaged in their business activity.
The same applies to Personal Trainers. In all these cases the business is using the public land to conduct their business and logically (well logically to some people - including me) it is proper that those businesses pay a fee for the use of Public Land, which if you like that are renting for a short period of time specifically for business purposes. It is no different to a person setting up a stall and selling widgets or flowers or booze, the photographer, yoga teacher or personal trainer is selling a service, not goods, but equally they are all performing their business on public land which is administered by the local authorities.
In my opinion, the written commentary in video reeked of the same allusive hyperbole and it sought to push an agenda rather than portray the facts, which I think very likely are the fees payable at that park would be aimed at professional photographers shooting for business their purposes - it is hyperbole, and in my opinion simply wrong to align that type of photography with the general amateur who visits the park.
Obviously there is always the klutz official who will determine who is or is not conducting business activity by an assessment ONLY of the gear that s/he is using; and there are also the officials who simply do not know the Law – these latter type I have encountered a few times working as Security Guards, especially in Shopping Centres.
WW