ON February 19, Shadow Minister for Public Land Management, Melina Bath, tabled the largest petition in Legislative Council history, a petition with more than 40,208 signatures for No New National Parks, which stands up for the rights of those who want to keep accessing state forests for traditional bush activities.

On Wednesday evening, on May 14, Melina Bath took the petition to debate in the Legislative Council, with support from Gaelle Broad MP – Member for Northern Victoria, who stated it was an honour to speak on this petition, “the largest petition we’ve ever seen in the history of this chamber.”

The debate centred around the Allan Labor government’s plans to introduce three new national parks. The new national parks will be created by linking existing state forests, parks and reserves. The largest, combining Lerderderg State Park and Wombat State Forest to create the Wombat-Lerderderg National Park covering more than 44,000 hectares between Daylesford and Bacchus Marsh.

This proposal was made in May 2022, and Melina argued that the government's budget cuts to Parks Victoria have led to poor land management and overgrown tracks, claiming that new parks would restrict traditional activities, including hunting and camping, without improving conservation.

Tom McIntosh MP from Eastern Victoria defended the Labor Government during the debate, claiming that it's creating permanent protections for Victoria’s three new national parks to help conserve native flora and fauna and enhance recreation and tourism opportunities.

In the gallery during the debate were representatives  from all over regional Victoria including, Field and Game Australia, Mountain Cattleman’s Association of Victoria, Prospectors and Miners Association of Victoria, Bush Users Group United, Australian Deer Association, SSAA, Victorians Against the Great Forest National Park, and small business people, all of which supported and signed the No New National Parks petition.

“Parks Victoria has had $95 million gutted from its budget and a halving of its core services. Locking up more of our state forests as national parks serves no-one, and restricting Victorians from our traditional pursuits, such as free and dispersed camping, dirt and trail bike riding, horse riding, hunting, four-wheel driving, prospecting and fossicking, does not guarantee any better conservation of vulnerable species,” said Melina.

“This country, our country, evolved by and through people – First Nations people – managing the land in the landscape. Forests were selectively cool-burned, species were hunted and people lived in and around their environment. Today this government is finding excuses to restrict access. In flawed ideology, Labor has committed to locking up 50,000 hectares in the Pyrenees, Wombat and Lerderderg state forests as national park, and the minister has doubled down on this today.

“Community is teaching people how to respect free camping sites, and our volunteer groups are increasingly lifting that heavy load of weed eradication and pest eradication because the government has dropped the ball.”

Tom responded by stating, “We have found the right balance here to protect what needs to be protected, while keeping the land open and accessible for the activities that Victorians love,” he said. “It is far from being locked up.”

Katherine Copsey MP for South Metropolitan said, “My question today is: why is Labor dragging its feet on the three new national parks in the central west? Back in 2021, Labor promised national parks in the Wombat and Wellsford forests, Mount Buangor and the Pyrenees. It is now 2025, and we are yet to see a single new park.”

While Wendy Lovell, MP of Northern Victoria, spoke to the debate stating, “You can add to that 40,208 the 13,969 Victorians who signed a petition that was tabled by Wayne Farnham, the member for Narracan, and I have a petition that is still live that has 11,767 signatures on it at the moment.

“So that is over 66,000 Victorians – 66,044 Victorians – who have signed petitions saying they do not want new national parks in Victoria, just in the last six months,” she said.

“Changing the status to a national park does not guarantee it any additional resources. There is no additional money that comes with that for the management of the park, for the protection of the park.”

The debate raised concerns, not only of those in the direct suburbs but those visitors from across Victoria who enjoy their recreational activities on the weekends, and Jeff Bourman of Eastern Victoria for Shooters Fishers Farmers rose to congratulate Melina Bath on the petition, saying, they want to lock out people who work real jobs and enjoy their weekends.

“They want to lock out people who live outside the shield of the quinoa curtain. They will carry on that anyone who opposes their elitist agenda is anti-environment or anti-conservation,” said Jeff.

“This is not about the environment or conservation. This is about the politics of snobbery and division. It is about the cultural elite telling the millions of Victorians living outside the echo chamber what is good for them.”