Thursday, 15 August 2024

Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority

Richard RIORDAN (Polwarth) (17:13): (783) My adjournment debate this evening is for the minister for environment and climate change, and the action I seek from the minister is to have a meeting with the chair and committee of the Great Ocean Road Communities Network. The reason my community would like to meet with the minister is they have grave concerns about this government’s ability to fund and adequately support one of its very own instruments, being the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, GORCAPA. This community network represents some 20 ‍community-based organisations, and I will read them in. They are the Aireys Inlet & District Association, Anglesea Community Network, Apollo Bay Community Voice, the Bellbrae Residents Association, Friends of Lorne, Friends of Point Grey, Geelong Environment Council, Greater Torquay Alliance, Kennett River Association, Otway Forum, Port Campbell Community Group, Princetown Wetlands and Estuary Preservation Group, Save Anglesea, Skenes Creek progress association, Southern Otways Landcare group, Southern Otways Sustainable group and Wye River Separation Creek Community Association. These community groups, who have an active role in each of their communities along the Great Ocean Road, have grave concerns that the current funding model for the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, GORCAPA, is absolutely not sufficient and unable to complete many of the promised community projects.

I refer very specifically to the unfunded, incomplete projects. They include the redevelopment or fixing up at Point Grey in Lorne. That is a project that the community has been waiting on since at least 2014. There have been endless promises and money has been allocated, and it is incomplete. There is the Apollo Bay Harbour, which is now going through its third iteration of project planning and consultation. Meanwhile the fabric of the harbour continues to crumble. We have the iconic Twelve Apostles at Port Campbell, where there is no shortage of breakdowns. We have the stairs to the Loch Ard Gorge currently closed, the public access to the arch currently closed and a project to upgrade visitor facilities still in the pipeline and incomplete. On top of all that are the various other community projects and public places and spaces right along the Great Ocean Road that continue to be left to run down and are inadequately funded.

GORCAPA, the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority, have simply been put in place by this government without the sufficient funds. It is of great concern that we are seeing billions spent on projects to nowhere here in Melbourne, and funds for basic community infrastructure and basic services for visitors and tourists that help our regional economies, most importantly in the seat of Polwarth, are not being looked after. Minister, I urge you to meet with this committee and give them your commitment to funding.

The SPEAKER: Member for Polwarth, can you clarify which minister your adjournment matter was to? We have a Minister for Environment and we have a Minister for Climate Action.

Richard RIORDAN: The Minister for Environment.