State forest access
Cindy McLEISH (Eildon) (10:27): Bush lovers are united in their passion to keep access to the forests in Central Highlands, but they are fearful that the Labor government are going to lock them out. Those who enjoy getting out into the local bush to ride horses, to hunt, to go four-wheel driving or dirt biking, to fish, to prospect or to simply take the dog out for a walk in the bush are all at risk of losing their favourite pastime. Labor’s consultation about the future of the forests has been woeful. They set an exceptionally short timeframe – suspiciously short. They have used Engage Victoria – no-one looks at the Engage Victoria website. Further, you have to scroll down several pages to actually find out about the community drop-in sessions. And then you put a Post-it note at those sessions on a big bit of paper. I attended sessions at Healesville, at Yarra Junction and with 564 people at Alexandra, and the passion has never been clearer: they are worried about the future of their bush. The government cannot manage money, and they will not be able to manage the forest if they turn it into a national park.