Tuesday, 29 October 2024

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (12:55): (1183) My question is for the Premier. Will the Premier honour her commitment to never putting a padlock on our public forests by scrapping her government’s plan to create two new national parks? In August this year at the bush summit in Bendigo the Premier publicly promised to never put a padlock on Victoria’s state forests. But just two months later the Premier has gone back on her word and revealed that Labor will soon introduce legislation to create the Wombat-Lerderderg National Park in my electorate. Victorians who use state forests for outdoor recreation are outraged because converting the land to national park status will prevent many activities in the area that people currently enjoy, like walking their dogs, riding horses, prospecting, collecting firewood and hunting. The Premier claims some activities will still be allowed, but everyone knows this will only mean death by a thousand cuts as Labor gradually bans activities one by one. The Premier promised to keep access to state parks open, but once again Labor has betrayed Victorians.