Great Forest National Park

The Great Forest National Park is a proposed national park in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is envisaged that the park would protect the forests of the Central Highlands and species of conservation concern such as the endangered Leadbeater's possum.[1][2] The concept was developed by regional community groups and forest ecologists and researchers from Australian National University and the University of Melbourne.

Toolangi State Forest, part of the proposed national park

Proposed location

The park would extend between Kinglake National Park (west) and Baw Baw National Park (east), Lake Eildon National Park (north) and Bunyip State Park (south).[3] It would encompass 355,000 ha of land, including the Yarra Ranges National Park and existing state forests such as the Cathedral Range State Park and Toolangi State Forest.[4]

Analysis

A Report produced by the Nous Group found that the establishment of the Great Forest National Park with three different investment scenarios could generate as much as 379,000 additional visitors to the region. The Report identified that investment could also lead to as much 740 new full time jobs and added economic benefit of $71.1 million in local GDP.

Political controversy

An opinion poll conducted in 2014 showed that 89% of Victorians support a national park in the proposed area.[5][6] The proposal is also supported by 30 environmental and scientific groups, including the Royal Society of Victoria, Australian Conservation Foundation and The Wilderness Society.[5] Prominent environmentalists supporting the park include David Attenborough, Jane Goodall,[4] Tim Flannery and Bob Brown.[7]

Opponents of the park include the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party,[8] and the Victorian Association of Forest Industries,[7] that opposes any extension to the state's national park system.[9]

The proposal was a key topic in the 2014 Victorian state election. While the incumbent Liberal-National Coalition ruled out support for any new national park, the proposal was supported by The Greens.[4] The Labor Party was divided on the issue and did not actively support the plan during the election campaign.[10] In 2015 environment minister Lisa Neville expressed support for the national park.[11]

See also

References
  1. Young, Amelia: "Great Forest National Park support could decide Victorian election", ABC, 27 November 2014
  2. Lindemayer, David: "Why Victoria needs a Giant Forest National Park ", in The Conversation, 30 September 2013
  3. My Forests Inc: "Park Plan", retrieved 27 December 2014
  4. Milman, Oliver: "David Attenborough and Jane Goodall join the fight to create a new national park in Victoria", in The Guardian, 11 November 2014
  5. "Sir David Attenborough backs move to protect Leadbeater's habitat", in ECOS Magazine, 17 November 2014
  6. Essential Research: "Selected Results - Great Forest National Park", 14 October 2014
  7. Henderson, Jenni: "Support for the proposal of a new Victorian national park grows", ABC, 23 September 2014
  8. Carey, Adam. "Party in the upper house: Who's who on new Victorian crossbench". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  9. VAFI:About Archived 2015-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 24 June 2015
  10. Gordon, Josh: "State Labor dumps Great Forests park plan ahead of Victorian election", in The Age, 14 November 2014
  11. Tomazin, Farrah: "Minister flags new national park within this term to save the possum" in The Age, 3 May 2015

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