Ms ADDISON (Wendouree) (18:05:33): I am proud to support the Parks and Crown Land Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 because it is a bill that helps implement this government’s commitment to further protect Victoria’s natural environment and fauna, respect our rich Indigenous cultural history and encourage and enable Victorians to enjoy our beautiful outdoors.

I wish to thank the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, the Special Minister of State in the other place, the officers and the relevant government departments for the work that has gone into preparing this bill.

I have the member for Bass sitting alongside me, and I would really like to thank her for her passionate and well-considered contribution to the debate. As the member for Bass she is incredibly proud of her electorate, and I always enjoy her contributions and learning more about the rich cultural history and the environmental wonders of the Bass Coast. The member for Bass, I will just add on the anniversary of our friendship, is a champion for her community, working hard across a large and diverse electorate. She is a strong advocate who lives her values every day. Well done and keep up the great work.

I am very proud to be speaking to this bill. I welcome the opportunity to participate because this legislation is about making Victoria an even better place to live and work. It is about celebrating and recognising our unique and beautiful cultural assets. I am pleased that at its heart the bill reflects the Andrews Labor government’s commitment to conserve our environment and protect endangered species.

This legislation is also for Victorians who love nature. Whether it is bushwalking, fishing or boating, we want to encourage more Victorians to enjoy the great outdoors. This is why we are encouraging Victorians to pack up the car and perhaps the trailer and hit the road and go camping with family and friends. For many, this is one of life’s great pleasures: to sleep beneath the stars and smell the fresh air. We want to make camping more accessible to more Victorians, and that is why this government has reduced camping fees to make it accessible for all. I know when you have got a young family and you would really like to get away, sometimes the money is tight and there are not a lot of options.

I can see the member for Clarinda knows as well, with his two young kids, that camping is a really great option to get out of the house and do something special, and often you can do it quite cheaply. I am really, really happy that this government is making camping even better for families.

Mr Tak interjected.

Ms ADDISON: I would love to go camping with the member for Clarinda, and I think that is something we should work on.

I would certainly love to see more family time rather than screen time. I cannot think of a better way of doing that than around a camp fire while you are camping. It is this promotion and protection of the great outdoors which we are enshrining in this legislation.

I am proud that the Parks and Crown Land Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 implements another two election commitments we made to the people of Victoria as part of our 2018 Victoria’s Great Outdoors policy. This was a great policy that we took to the people of Victoria over 12 months ago of over $100 million for a package to include upgrading hiking tracks and four-wheel drive tracks, creating 30 new campgrounds, reducing national park camp site fees by 50 per cent and establishing a new marine and coastal park along the Bass Coast.

I wish to commend the Premier and all the ministers, including the Minister for Public Transport, who I am so pleased is in the house, for all the work they are doing at the moment to acquit our election promises. We said what we would do, and we are doing what we said. I could not be prouder than to be a member of this government.

This legislation alters the boundaries of several existing parks and reserves and also includes miscellaneous changes and technical updates to nine different acts. The bill will commence no later than 1 December 2020. However, it is expected that most of the bill will commence before that date.

At the heart of this legislation is the creation the Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park along the 40‑kilometre stunning scenic coast from San Remo to Inverloch. We are investing $19.6 million over four years for the creation of this new park because we want to ensure that this significant coastal environment and landscape can be enjoyed by all Victorians now and into the future. This new park will bring together and amalgamate a number of existing parks and reserves as well as other Crown land.

When we do important projects like this—important ideas—we bring the community with us. I am so pleased there has been broad consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and the community and that there is widespread support for the creation of this park. The name of the park was chosen by the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, the registered Aboriginal party representing the traditional owners of the area, and reflects the cultural history of the land over many millennia. The name honours the Yallock-Bulluk clan, whose country includes the park area.

By establishing the marine and coastal park we are creating greater permanent protection while allowing for appropriate recreational use. Really it is a very good balance that we have achieved; we have struck the balance on this.

It is important to note that existing uses like dog walking and horseriding will continue. I know that is very important to people; they love spending time riding horses and walking dogs, and we are not going to change that. All the while we are enhancing nature tourism in South Gippsland.

The new coastal and marine park will also be a boost for the South Gippsland community and economy. The new tourist destinations will create more business for local traders as Victorians will be able to camp in the area for the first time. I am pleased that the Victorian government will work with the community to improve visitor opportunities in the park while protecting its important environment. That is good news all around. While this new marine and coastal park is more than a 3‑hour drive from the electorate of Wendouree, more than 240 kilometres away from where I live, it is important to me and so many other people across the state.

This bill will also enable camping on licensed river frontages. For millions of Victorians who love the great outdoors, this will be most welcome. I have such lovely memories of as a kid at Easter going up to the Murray and camping with my family. Camping by a river—there really is not much better.

This bill will also create some important conservation lands to the east of Melbourne, with the Yellingbo Landscape Conservation Area. The Yellingbo Landscape Conservation Area will support a range of significant natural values of two of the state’s faunal emblems. I think we need to talk more about our fauna and our emblems, because I think as members of Parliament—I have switched into teacher mode—we do not know enough about the lowland form of the Leadbeater’s possum, let alone the critically endangered helmeted honeyeater, which is our state’s bird emblem.

I have got so much to talk about. For all those who love creatures great and small, this is welcome news. I am looking forward to visiting the area with my children and I hope that future generations of Victorians can do the same.

Another aspect of this bill is the creation of the Don Valley Education Reserve in the same area, on what of what is now Haining Farm. This 6.5‑hectare area is the site of the new campus of the Alpine School, a school for student leadership—a great initiative of the Victorian government which is forecast to open in early 2021. As a former schoolteacher, I am very excited about this great program that will give more students from across Victorian state schools the opportunity to develop life skills in a unique learning environment, building resilience and gaining independence. I am so pleased that we are creating these experiences for students so that they can grow and thrive.

There are also many other important aspects of this bill, including moves that we are going to make to help the greater glider and the powerful owl, as well as increase the conservation values of the Great Otway National Park—good news all around.

It is good news for Bendigo as well with its aerodrome. We are going to open up some additional parcels of land. I am really looking forward to driving to Bendigo to jump on a plane—it is not far from Ballarat to fly to Sydney. What an amazing announcement.

I must conclude, which is very sad because I really want to talk about things. But this legislation is great news. Establishing a new coastal and marine park, making improvements to administrative processes for Parks Victoria and protecting Victorian fauna, the new legislation being proposed will have positive effects for all Victorians, and I welcome the proposed changes.

I am proud to support this important legislation, and for the sake of the possums, the honeyeaters, the gliders and the powerful owls, I urge the house to support this bill.

 

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