Thursday, 28 November 2024

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (14:04): (1300) My question is for the Minister for Environment. Will the minister fund urgent clean-up and maintenance works at Reedy Swamp in the Lower Goulburn National Park? The Shepparton–Mooroopna Urban Landcare Group are a small but dedicated group of volunteers who give their own time to conserve and care for native fauna and flora around Greater Shepparton. They are distraught at the serious neglect of Reedy Swamp in the Lower Goulburn National Park by Parks Victoria. Fences are in disrepair, tracks are not maintained, illegal logging is removing crucial tree coverage, feral cats and rabbits run rampant, weeds have spread rapidly after the floods and rubbish is dumped in the park on a weekly basis. The local Parks Victoria branch is not sufficiently resourced to address these issues. The senior ranger has not been replaced, and staff members are down from five to one. This comes amid reports that the Allan Labor government will soon create two more national parks and fire another hundred Parks Victoria staff across the state. It is pointless creating new parks when you cannot even manage the ones Victoria already has.