Queensland drivers might soon be able to roam more freely under two strikingly different proposals up for debate.

Last financial year, more than 190,000 vehicle access permits were granted for access to mandated recreation areas in National Parks, with Cooloola proving the most popular (84,767 permits). Other popular tracks were K’gari (formerly Fraser Island), which had 47,407 permits, and Bribie Island, just north of Brisbane, which had 26,523 permits.

The Department of Environment and Science is now consulting on possible changes to the permit scheme that might allow drivers to pay one fee for access to multiple recreation areas.

The money raised by fees is reinvested into recreation areas, often for camping areas and visitor facilities, but for the more avid off-roaders the need for a permit is a hassle.

Meanwhile, Katter’s Australian Party is fighting plans to make new National Parks out of old state forests where there are fewer rules and regulations. More than 5,900 people have so far signed a petition to prevent state forests being locked up on environmental grounds; the department would lose responsibility for their management and a new agency be established to focus more on commercial and recreational opportunities.

New 4WD vehicles are increasingly common on Australian roads, with a recent analysis finding they overtook passenger vehicles as the most popular purchase in 2017 and have stayed ahead in the years since.