Bendigo’s national parks ‘neglected’

Victorian National Parks Association spokesman Phil Ingamells said poor access and understaffing meant visitors to the city’s three national parks – the Heathcote/Graytown National Park, the Greater Bendigo National Park and the Bendigo Regional Park – were being short-changed.

“Access is just based around the old tracks that were there for getting firewood and gold mining and various sorts of things,” he said.

“It’s really time to reorganise the track system and the access so visitors can get the most out of those parks.”

Now based in Melbourne, Mr Ingamells lived in Castlemaine for 10 years and said the region’s parks were often overlooked when it came to the distribution of limited funding.

“What little money there is tends to go to the big parks like the Grampians and Wilson’s Prom,” he said.

“People should be able to see a park ranger when they go to a park and today if you did that in Bendigo or Castlemaine or any of those areas it’s almost impossible to see a park ranger or park staff at work.”

Mr Ingamells called for increased state government funding to ensure there were enough appropriately qualified staff available to successfully manage the parks.

“You need to increase the staff and you need to increase the resources the staff have and you need to bring experience,” he said.

“That’s not a criticism of the existing staff but they just need more support.

“Managing ecosystems well leads to a healthy society and a healthy economy.”

Mr Ingamells’ comments come after Parks Victoria’s latest annual report revealed direct funding from the state government had collapsed by 37 per cent in nominal terms over the past three years, from $122 million in 2011-12 to $76.8 million in 2014-15.

A spokeswoman for the Victorian government said the department conducted regular patrols throughout Bendigo’s parks in partnership with Victoria Police, as well as fire management programs.

“There are seven rangers who cover parks in the Bendigo area, including three new recruits as part of the Dja Dja Wurrung traditional owner joint management,” she said.

“There are also partnerships with the Bendigo North Landcare Group to help manage the landscape.

“There have been upgrades in recent years at Notley Campground in Greater Bendigo National Park, including a new toilet block and other facilities for visitors.”

Mr Ingamells also called for a shift away from fuel reduction burning in Bendigo’s national parks in favour of increased firefighting capabilities.

He said authorities should take a more holistic approach to fire management, incorporating protection of native species.

“There is a need to move away from fuel reduction burning as the one and only solution for fire management, to really look at equipping central Victoria for rapid attack capability so you can get to fires more quickly,” he said.

“You can never really solve the bushfire problem through fuel reduction burning unless you remove the bush completely.”