VNPA wants GOR authority out of national parks

THE Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) is continuing its criticism of the proposed Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, saying it would duplicate expertise that already exists in Parks Victoria.

In October 2018, the state government released its Great Ocean Road Action Plan, which outlined the steps needed to improve governance of the public land along the Great Ocean Road.

At the time, VNPA spokesperson Phil Ingamells described the creation of the authority as a “land grab” and repeated the criticism last week.

He said while public and private land along the Great Ocean Road needed careful planning oversight, the roughly 80 per cent of the  land that was already protected in national parks was not the problem the new authority should be addressing.

“That’s a waste of resources that would be much better spent on solving the area’s big problem – how to handle the rapidly growing tourism numbers, while protecting the attractions that bring them.

“Giving the new authority management responsibility for our national parks is institutional overreach. It is a completely unnecessary duplication of park management skills and expertise and sets a dangerous precedent for park management across the rest of Victoria.

“Park management can and should improve, but that should be addressed by resourcing Parks Victoria properly, not trying to duplicate its functions.”

The VNPA argues Parks Victoria should get more funding, claiming the statutory authority was only 0.4 per of the Victorian budget, had not increased in real terms for decades, and should be lifted to 1 per cent.

The state government is running online and in-person consultation about the plans for the Great Ocean Road – head to https://engage.vic.

gov.au/great-ocean-road – but the VNPA says “the community has not been invited to comment about the takeover of national parks”.