Victorians love their public lands. We know that national parks and other reserves need proper funding to manage invasive species, the impacts of fire and climate change, and ensure there are the facilities that the community need to be able to visit and enjoy these wonderful places.

However, cuts to the department that manages our public land threatens our national parks and other reserves.

The government response to the Independent Review of the Victorian Public Service (called the Silver Review) has seen more than 300 staff, many from the biodiversity section of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), being cut. Loss of many decades of knowledge and experience in biodiversity will have a devastating impact on land management across the state in coming years.

We are also losing entire institutions. This includes the Victorian Environmental Assessment Council (VEAC), an important body that provides advice and recommendations on the use of public land, which will be largely dismantled.  The Victorian Marine and Coastal Council, which provides advice on marine and coastal issues, will also be cut.  

The Victorian government wants to encourage more Victorians to get out into nature and enjoy our parks and reserves. This is a worthy goal, one that we fully support. But encouraging more visitors means putting more pressure on these places, and so the government should be increasing staff, not cutting important biodiversity knowledge.

We understand that Victoria faces economic constraints. But cutting environmental institutions and biodiversity experts is short sighted decision making. As was pointed out in the final report from the Victorian Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee Inquiry into ecosystem decline in Victoria ‘climate change is already driving ecosystem decline across Victoria, with devastating impacts for native floral and faunal species’. This, combined with growing numbers of visitors and growing pressures from feral species and changing fire regimes, means we need more onground and biodiversity staff. Loss of this knowledge will have enormously negative impacts on our public lands for years to come.

Meanwhile a long running dispute with fire fighting staff continues. Fire fighters with Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMV) are some of the lowest paid public servants, and according to the Australian Workers’ Union, women on FFMV crews are being paid thousands of dollars less than their male colleagues. Firefighters are demanding better wages and conditions.

The Victorian state government is currently focused on deciding on what will be funded in the next state budget (due out in May 2026). Please sign our open letter to the premier and environment minister urging them to ensure there are no further cuts in DEECA staff, no loss of environmental institutions, and a commitment to rebuilding biodiversity knowledge within DEECA.