The State Government report into the future of river red gum forests has generated an enormous amount of feedback. Red Gum Community Engagement Panel chairman CRAIG COOK puts his case . . .
When the State Government in August last year asked me to chair a red gum community engagement panel, it did so because it wanted to hear directly from the regional Victorians who would be affected by any move to protect and preserve these iconic forests.
Enshrined in our terms of reference was a pledge to address the particular needs of specific groups such as recreational users of public land. This was emphasised because the Government understands that the Murray River holds a unique place in all Victorians’ hearts as a haven for camping, fishing, horse-riding and other activities.
With these riding instructions, the panel set off across northern Victoria, talking at length with many people, from representatives of the Australian Deer Association to the Victorian Apiarists Association.
All up, we spoke to at least 38 groups and scores of individuals, and travelled to Echuca, the Barmah forest, Kerang, the Gunbower forest, Swan Hill, Mildura and Rutherglen. Interestingly, in light of his criticisms in The Advertiser yesterday, Damian Drum was invited to give his views, but declined.
Our final report - which the Government accepted as its response to the Victorian Environment Assessment Council’s report into red gum protection - is now publicly available.
It has led to a range of common-sense changes to the VEAC recommendations that, far from seeing these protected areas locked up as Mr Drum claimed, will lead to this vital part of our heritage being preserved and enhanced for our children and their children.
Campfires will be allowed throughout the year. People will be able to camp with horses. Recreational shooters will be allowed to help authorities control feral animals. And changes have been made to boundaries that will help improve access.
All this comes on top of VEAC’s final recommendations that enshrined people’s rights to camp where they wanted and engage in activities such as fishing, four-wheel driving and trail-bike riding in the same way they had for generations.
Following last week’s announcement, the panel’s approach has been vindicated in the form of support from a range of people with an acute interest in maintaining access to the red gum forests.
Four Wheel Drive Victoria said it would benefit local economies along the Murray River. A coalition of recreational shooting groups agreed, saying the Government’s response on recreation had injected an element of common sense into recreational use of the study area. The state’s peak recreational fishing body, VRFish, also welcomed the announcement.
Even Mr Drum’s Nationals colleague, Mildura MP Peter Crisp, hailed it as a win for the common man.
The panel didn’t take the protection of the red gums and the effect of its decision lightly. It knows there will be pain for some communities. But in following its recommendations, the Government is acting on scientific evidence that up to three-quarters of the gums on some stretches of the rivers are dead or dying.
It will provide a $4.5 million package for the 56 timber workers affected. The panel looked at the impact on regional jobs in great detail and found that it would result in a range of job opportunities in local communities, including an extra 30 Parks Victoria rangers and 10 people to build fences and thin trees. It is estimated a further 26 tourism-related jobs will also be created along the river following the creation of the national parks.
It is easy to score cheap points and trade on cartoonish stereotypes of Greens-voting latte sippers in attacking the Government’s decision as city-centric.
But the reality is that the panel took a balanced approach to preserving the red gum forests so that all can continue to enjoy a precious and irreplaceable community asset for generations to come.