.




2013/07: Should Victoria's national parks have been opened to private developers?





Introduction to the media issue

Video clip at right:
On March 31, 2013, Channel 7 News ran a report detailing the guidelines that had just been released allowing private development in Victoria’s national parks. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.

What they said...
'We need to come to a clear decision as to why we have national parks, and how much we expect to be able to develop those areas to improve our economic return...'
Dr Kevin Tolhurst, an expert witness at the Royal Commission into the Black Saturday bushfires

'Victoria has the highest national park visitation in the country, yet the economic yield from this visitation is the nation's lowest'
Dianne Smith, Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council

The issue at a glance
On March 31, 2013, the Victorian government released guidelines outlining the conditions under which private developers would be able to invest in establishing tourist facilities in the state's national parks. This is the first time such development has been allowed within the state's national parks. Previously, any private development within the national parks has existed only because it was there prior to the area being declared a national park.
The Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Ryan Smith, stated, 'Victorians, as well as interstate and international visitors, will have greater opportunities to experience and appreciate the state's wonderful natural environment following the release today of guidelines for environmentally friendly and sustainable tourism in national parks.'
Opponents of this policy shift see it as the commercialisation of the State's conservation areas and as a change likely to bring irreversible harm to the national parks, destroying the qualities for which they are currently valued.