With the candidates beginning to take shape, one of two state members for the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, Northern Victoria region MP Daniel Young promised to introduced a motion into the Legislative Council today urging the state government to ignore the recommendations from a draft Victorian Environmental Assessment Council plan. 

The plan recommended 3950 hectares on the western side of Wellsford forest be added to the regional park and 3160 hectares on the northern and eastern side to become nature reserve.

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It proposed creating a Wombat-Lerderderg National Park over 52,853 hectares of existing state parks and forests. This would put in place similar restrictions as those proposed for Wellsford forest.

It also proposed a Hepburn Conservation Park for 2714 hectares northwest of Daylesford, a Hepburn Regional Park surrounding Daylesford, a 2532-hectare Cobaw Conservation Park east of Kyneton and changes to the Macedon Regional Park.

Mr Young said given the delicate balance of power in the upper house – both Labor and the Liberals hold 14 seats, making the passage of legislation more difficult – the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party would use the investigation as a campaign issue. 

“As a minor party we're here to keep them honest. We want to know from both the government and the opposition - will they proceed in creating more national parks?,” he said.

“We shouldn’t be creating more national parks for the sake of it.”

The Greens endorsed Macedon Ranges-based lawyer and tax law trainer Nicole Rowan as its candidate for Northern Victoria in April, hoping to secure the fifth seat from the Shooters and Fishers Party or Labor.

The Greens polled 7.69 per cent of the vote in Northern Victoria in the 2014 state election, but the Shooters and Fishers Party benefited from Liberal and National preferences to get over the line.

The fifth seat was contested between Labor, the Greens and the Australian Country Alliance, with Labor’s Jaclyn Symes getting elected.

Ms Rowan said the Greens were still working through VEAC’s recommendations, which would be ignored if the government was to take heed of Mr Young’s proposal.

While reluctant to comment directly on the draft report, Ms Rowan said the Greens were in favour of increasing Parks Victoria’s resources, and heightening the role of traditional land owners in land management decisions.

“The report authors have been working on this for 18 months, we need to give its reccomendations some care and attention rather than dismissing it,” she said.

Nationals MP for Northern Victoria Luke O’Sullivan said while the report focused on parks mainly in the Western Region he was concerned with some of its recommendations.

“My fear is the report will result in even more public land being locked away and people won't be able to access it the way they currently can,” he said.

“You would expect the Greens would want to have more restrictions to land use which is ridiculous.”

Elsewhere, Tatura’s Josh Hudson recently announced his candidacy for the upper house in the Northern Victoria region after registering his political party – Hudson for Northern Victoria – with the Victorian Electoral Commission. 

“If we were lucky enough to snaffle fourth of fifth spot (in the region) it forces the government, whoever they are, to have to deal with us,” he said.

Mr Hudson said his main political aim was to create some leverage and political attention for seats like Mildura which has been a safe Nationals seat for a number of years. 

“That are has been ignored for far too long,” he said.

Mr Hudson said he was engaged in preliminary negotiations with the major parties regarding preferences.

The Liberal Party pre-selected Benalla-based Brad Hearn to contest the number three position 3 position in Northern Victoria in August.

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