Friends of the Earth forest collective expresses concern about the Labor government's decision to launch an inquiry into the management of Parks Victoria. We recognise that the current government is in the process of restructuring governing departments overseeing the management of the environment, inclusive of state forests and the National Park/reserve system. 

At the end of November, Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos dismissed the Parks Victoria CEO and announced an unexpected review of the agency, stating to the media that Parks Victoria's current operations were ‘not meeting community expectations'. We strongly support the protection of First Nations cultural heritage and stress that all public recreational activity should be carried out with respect for cultural and ecological values. 

The recent decision to not only dismiss the CEO, but cut jobs within Parks Victoria, has been concerning given the lack of warning and short-time frame for affected workers to find other gainful employment. We hope that they are provided with the necessary support at this difficult time. We also hope that the government is not seeking to defund the care and management of special places of environmental significance that Victorians value deeply. 

We acknowledge the role Parks Victoria plays as caretakers of incredible landscapes protected within the reserve systems, which add significant biodiversity and outdoor tourism values. Victoria is home to 44 national parks, 26 state parks, 13 marine national parks, 11 marine sanctuaries and numerous other protected areas. We thank these conservation workers for their dedication to protecting biodiversity.

Labor has looked after forestry workers (with $875 million spent on the forestry industry transition, plus $290 million to employ forest contractors for the next four years). Conservation workers should also be shown the respect of a fair transition and be given the opportunity to continue to use their skills to protect the environment during this next chapter.

There is a growing concern that defunding Parks Victoria at this critical time will lead to an erosion in existing protections for currently safeguarded areas. Independent polling released last week reiterated the community’s strong support for conservation outcomes. The results show that 80% of Victorians support national parks and back the creation of new national parks. It’s clear that the broader community will not accept the neglect or degradation of these environments. 

FoE supports First Nations governance of protected areas and direct management arrangements like collaborative management. Traditional Owners should be empowered to self-determine the governance structures of protected areas (whether that’s expanding existing protected areas, new parks, or Cultural Reserves) on a nation by nation level. We acknowledge that current protected areas exist within the cultural landscapes of First Nations custodians and we support land managers to care for these places through a cultural landscapes lens that combines Cultural knowledge, western conservation science, and the knowledge of local communities in order to give Country what it needs to thrive. We hope that any review of current land management agencies will ensure that partnering land managers are robustly resourced with the funding and staffing required to deliver holistic programs on a landscape scale. 

The Victorian Government is legally and morally obliged to make sure land managers have the adequate resources to fulfil their responsibilities. The reserve system has already been chronically underfunded by successive governments. We note that the recent Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Ecosystem Decline (2021) recommended that funding to manage reserves should be increased to 1 percent of State Domestic Product (approximately $4.5 billion annually). We also argue the need for the urgent and extensive restoration of forested landscapes that have been damaged by logging. This will require an increase in on-the-ground land management capacity and robust funding, not cuts. 

This decision comes at a time where the stakes are high for the environment. Last year's decision to end native forest logging was received ecstatically by communities right across Victoria, ushering in a time for change and a radical reassessment of our relationship to forested landscapes. A relationship of care should extend to all protected places and cultural landscapes, irrespective of tenure. The government has an obligation to empower First Nations as land managers and decision makers, as well as engage with the conservation community who have been working tirelessly on the ground to protect, restore and enhance the environment in a time of climate and biodiversity crisis. 

The Great Outdoors Taskforce has been established to consult with the Victorian community and provide recommendations to the government on how Victoria can approach managing the forests of Victoria for biodiversity and outdoor recreation. The taskforce has been engaging with various interest groups and we hope that the outcome signals clearly that forests must be managed for biodiversity, bio-cultural values, and the wellbeing and connection that natural places provide to the public. There can be no outdoor recreation without a healthy environment, and the current government needs to balance their expectations for increasing outdoor recreation with the reality of the environment’s ability to cope with increased activity as it faces a myriad of threats and stressors such as climate change.

We know that now is the time for the empowerment of First Nations to finally access equitable land management opportunities. It is a time for our forests and for nature to rest and recuperate from decades of mismanagement and over logging. It is high time that this government enacts legislative changes which will provide lasting protections for forests and nature for future generations to come. It should also grasp the opportunity to expand a regenerative workforce in land management and restoration, not cut existing capacity. The current environment Minister Steve Dimopolous needs to get this right.

We understand that reassessing current strategies may be necessary, but an election will be upon us soon. We need to see proactive, lasting changes that protect the environment set in motion within the next two years. Our forests are not safeguarded against a potential change in government who have already committed to undermine the history making decision by the Andrews’ government to end native forest logging.

Communities are disappointed to learn that the Labor government's promise to expand the National Parks and reserve system of the state has been broken. Dimopolous must still deliver with a positive solution that ensures biodiversity can be protected. Defunding Parks Vic has been a disheartening and difficult blow to affected workers before the holiday period.
Whilst this process has caused unrest and uncertainty for the future of Parks Vic, we hope that this review offers the opportunity to strengthen and increase the capacity for land restoration and care, whilst embedding Traditional Owner rights and improved biodiversity conservation into the re-structure. 

ACTION

Write to Environment Minister Steve Dimopolous and ask him to: 

• Empower Traditional Owners as land managers and decision makers.
  
  
• Increase funding and resourcing for overall land management operations and holistic land restoration projects. Parks Victoria has been chronically underfunded for many years, with many impacts on land management, control of feral and invasive species, and upkeep of infrastructure. We note that the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into Ecosystem Decline recommended Parks Victoria funding to be increased to 1 percent of State Domestic Product. 
  
  
• Consider how well the reserved system is being managed in the face of escalating impacts of climate change, including fire fighting capacity and enhancing ecosystem resilience. 
  
  
• Greater transparency of expenditure for National Parks and other reserves.
  
  
• The expansion of land management and restoration jobs, not cuts to current capacity. 
  
• Don’t erode existing protections for currently safeguarded areas. Ensure protection that prevents damage and degradation. Land management agencies must ensure that cultural landscapes and protected areas are not degraded by irresponsible and entitled public activity. While the activity of local communities and tourism are important, the public must be respectful of cultural and ecological values. 
  
• Close engagement with the Parks Victoria workforce via the union. A fair transition for conservation workers must be part of any restructure. Labor supported workers in the timber industry to navigate a transition. Parks Vic staff should be given the opportunity to continue to use their skills in any new land management structures that emerge, as well as being offered fair transition packages. 
• 
  Safeguard the end of logging by immediately implementing binding changes to the state constitution that would prohibit all logging and industrial activity in forested landscapes. This has precedent in Victoria, when fracking was banned via the Constitution Amendment (Fracking Ban) Bill 2020.  

Email: [email protected]