Riordan flags GORCAPA shakeup if Liberals win

“DRAMATIC change” is coming to land near the Great Ocean Road if the Liberals win in November, with Polwarth Liberal MP Richard Riordan pledging a major shakeup of the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA).

Mr Riordan, whose electorate will take in Torquay, Jan Juc and Bellbrae at the election, outlined some of his party’s frustrations with GORCAPA at a Commerce Torquay event at RACV Torquay Resort on Thursday last week.

Established on December 1, 2020, GORCAPA manages, protects and fosters resilience of the natural, cultural and heritage values of coastal Crown land and marine waters along the Great Ocean Road.

The authority has replaced the functions of 30 responsible organisations with accountabilities along the famous tourist attraction.

Mr Riordan said there were stark philosophical difference between his party and Labor.

He said GORCAPA, as a “fundamental game changer for our region”, was a classic example as GORCAPA now controlled all the public land in towns along the Great Ocean Road.

“These spaces are important because they are what drives the town… therefore, those spaces have to work for those communities. There are other considerations other than the environment or what the minister wants in Spring Street.

“So we’re losing a lot of control at the local level, but most worryingly, GORCAPA have a philosophy that these spaces are not to make money.

“A [Liberal] win at the election will see a very dramatic change in the way we approach things.

“There is no doubt at the moment that the Andrews Government very much clearly has a view it must do everything itself.”

He cited the Skenes Creek Caravan Park and Anglesea Caravan Park as examples of businesses that should be privately run.

“The question that our communities have is ‘Is that the model we want?’. Do we want a government-run tourism business along our Great Ocean Road?”

Mr Riordan said the concept of a Great Ocean Road Authority when it was devised in 2016 was about co-ordinating and fostering tourism, but the infrastructure was not keeping up with modern demands.

“Apart from the building we’re in today [RACV Torquay Resort], there has been no new large-scale accommodation along the Great Ocean Road.

“Some of the ideas and concepts that have been put up in Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, and the Otways hinterland have all been knocked back.

“There is less accommodation now than there has ever been.

“What sort of tourism industry provides no opportunities at peak times?”

He said there was also a massive need to provide more housing to accommodate workers.

“The reality is that if we want people living here, we’ve got to have somewhere for people to live.”

Mr Riordan said Torquay had been “a bit immune” from the changes since GORCAPA had come into being.