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Victorian government adamant to convert 65,000ha into national parks

The Victorian government is pushing ahead with plans to convert about 65,000ha of state forests into national parks in Victoria’s central west, with new legislation introduced to parliament last week. Source: Weekly Times The move will see existing state park areas rebadged as national parks in state forests including Mount Buangor, Pyrenees and Wombat-Lerderderg. Areas in Cobaw, Hepburn and Bendigo regional parks will become conservation parks along with the Mirboo North Immediate Protection Area. Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the government was “protecting what Victorians love most about our great outdoors, so that they can continue to experience and enjoy nature and attract more visitors to the regions”. “The new parks provide safe homes for our famous wildlife and boost local regional economies by keeping Victoria at the top of every visitor’s bucket list,” Mr Dimopoulos said. The parks would continue to be accessible for such activities as bushwalking, camping, horse riding, four-wheel driving, dog walking, fishing and seasonal deer hunting, he said. But Eastern Victoria Nationals MP Melina Bath said the move did not reflect what the community wanted. “This will lock up significant areas of state forests in the Wombat Pyrenees area, but the Labor government has an extremely bad track record on diversity and conservation,” Ms Bath said. The legislation comes after the government promised not to rebadge areas in the Yarra Ranges, Kinglake, Lake Eildon, and Baw Baw national parks, as well as the Bunyip, Cathedral Ranges, and Moondarra state parks. It was recommended that 75% of the region’s 389,725ha of state forest be converted into “a large protected area such as a national park” that would include areas previously used for native timber harvesting.