‘No go’ at end of 2024 with the proposed Wombat-Lerderderg National Park

Well, well, well – the Wombat Forestcare Group is up in arms with Steve Dimopoulos due to no tabling of legislation in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament with the proposed, (not promised), Wombat State Forest and Lerderderg State Park to become a national park.

Thank goodness there may be some level of common sense coming into play and this current near-bankrupt Victorian Government realises there is a groundswell of Victorians questioning the bowing to demands of minority green groups.

Recently there has been a change in direction of Parks Victoria that hopefully adds to a change in agenda of locking up the access and use of our land. Land that should continue to provide shared open access and use for all.

Yes there are areas of significance that must be protected, pockets that can be identified; this should be determined by true experts in this field, not city armchair environmentalists.

The idea of creating designated camping areas, only allowing public vehicle access at the discretion of management, no amateur prospecting and fossicking, a drop dead date for domestic firewood collections, denied or controlled dog walking, horse riding and hunting of introduced feral animals is not the only answer to a saviour of native flora and fauna.

The suggestion our flora and fauna will not survive with the impact of human recreational activities has no foundation.

I do wonder if any of the many Landcare groups have visited existing forest national parks in Victoria and seen their condition, then trumpet truthfully: “What a beautiful legacy we are leaving our next and future generations”?

The addition of the proposed ‘Great Forest National Park’ to the east of Melbourne’s environs has added dramatically to the opposition to more national parks, mainly due to the current designs, restrictions and guidelines with national park implementations.

The Central West Investigation, (CWI), initiated by Lily D’Ambrosio in 2017 and put to the Victorian Environment Assessment Council (VEAC) to action, was a farce. This investigation resulted in a flawed determination of the submissions made to first and final rounds.

The recommendations tabled were a total overlook of the number of submissions against. Oh yes: the final publication said camping will be allowed, LOL; ‘Designated Camping Grounds’ is the intent (camping means some level of ‘roughing it with solitude to enjoy in peace the flora and fauna’. I have enjoyed this luxury for the past 52 years in Wombat).

I go to Anglesea on the south-west coast with the family during January and tolerate a crowded, corralled caravan and tents environment at a privately-run holiday park with no solitude because it is convenient.

During the cooler months the Wombat Forest is a haven for a sanity check, adjustment and escape from the city style demands and the true bush users use Mother Nature to revitalise, and local businesses in the small Wombat communities reap the benefits. There are some suggestions that tourism and the resultant financial benefit will explode with creation of national parks in a region – what a load of codswallop. Eco-tourist types generally visit on a daily basis and spend little at local markets, mini-marts, bakeries, service stations, hotels and accommodation.

It is possible the financial figures quoted in the final VEAC CWI recommendations were plucked from the air or from the region where the sun don’t shine. Now we are again witnessing fires in the Grampians National Park. I am sickened at the thought of how many of our native fauna has suffered and died in this inferno. Plus with the flora, flora that does in some cases require fire to create new generations, the germination process is killed due to bushfires today being so intense due to huge fuel loads.

And as I finish this letter we have all seen the devastation in California and Los Angeles; jurisdiction is facing finger-pointing from many quarters stating blame for the ferocity of the fires and calling for change in policies and management of these fire-prone areas. I say no more.

Stephen Smitham,

Darley, Victoria