Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Great Ocean Road tourism

Mr RIORDAN (Polwarth) (19:10): (6250) My adjournment debate matter this evening is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change. I will again invite the minister to come down to the Great Ocean Road region and to talk to communities in Port Campbell, Peterborough, Princetown, Hordern Vale, Apollo Bay, Wye River, Kennett River, Lorne, Aireys Inlet, Anglesea and Torquay at the end of the Great Ocean Road. I will plead with the minister to come and talk to these communities and tell them what she is doing such that after two years so much has not happened with the Great Ocean Road Authority.

The minister last week brought in the alpine legislation to help make the alpine regions work better. They referenced the Great Ocean Road model, but, Minister, there is so much that is not happening on the Great Ocean Road. I reference two particularly egregious breakdowns in good governance and management of what can only be described as one of the most important tourist assets in the state of Victoria. You have the Cape Otway lighthouse, which on 30 June will close. $6 million worth of important infrastructure will be carted away on the backs of trucks, 45 people will lose their jobs and a whole community will be without something that has sustained tourism, employment and the reason for that community to be there. It is in a most beautiful part of the state, and in two months time it is gone and there is nothing to replace it. These wonderful assets that have been there since the 1850s will be left abandoned and unloved again. And that is not the only one.

We have got Skenes Creek caravan park, a favourite holiday destination for thousands of families for years and years and years on the Great Ocean Road. It is sitting there closed—a dirty big ‘Closed’ sign—and the bit that the community is really upset about is that the new Great Ocean Road Authority and the government found money to fund consultants to design the new logos, banners and posters for the Skenes Creek caravan park only to slap a dirty great ‘Closed’ sign on it. And not only that, people cannot stay there at this time of the year. I was down there on Friday. The gate is locked. Granted they are still mowing the grass there and emptying the bins that have got no rubbish in them, but it is sitting there closed. At this time of year it should be full of grey nomads and there should be people getting excited about their holidays at Easter. But if you are going to leave it closed and not available for the visitors and tourists, at least let local people stay there who are desperate for accommodation. I mean, this is a piece of public land that could be used for the minister’s social housing gains. It could be a place that people could stay in to take up some of the employment opportunities. So, Minister, please come down and talk to my communities and tell them why it is all so bad.