Thursday, 18 May 2023

State Coal Mine

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (16:08): (243) This afternoon I would like my adjournment matter to be directed to the Minister for Environment. It relates to public land, indeed some fantastic public land on Parks Vic land at Wonthaggi, and it is the Wonthaggi State Coal Mine. It is a lovely, tranquil place where the lawns, grounds and historical buildings are kept in incredibly good working order. It is a lovely place for people to visit. However, back at the start of COVID the mine tours were closed – they were shut down – and a particular apparatus called a drift car, in which people were safely transported down into the mine so mine tours could operate, was removed and taken to Bendigo for structural assessment. It has sat there ever since.

The Friends of the State Coal Mine, who number upwards of 250 dedicated volunteers, are desperate for it to come back and be reinstalled for the recommencement of these wonderful community tours. Parks Victoria have been most sympathetic, and I met some of the Parks Victoria officers there the other day when I visited. I thank them for their very good service of this area. They are very keen also to have this drift car returned and have the tours up and going to share the history, the culture and the pride that the people of Wonthaggi have in this particular historical setting. I understand that there is on the table a request to government in the vicinity of $1.5 million to have the drift car return, to have it assessed and reinstalled and to get it ready again for tours so that they can operate – ensure that it meets compliance standards et cetera. So the action I seek in the budget from the minister is to provide in excess of $1.5 million for this drift car to be returned and restored and for tours to go on well into the future.