We all know that national parks and other public land managers really struggle to get the funds needed to look after the conservation estate. In Victoria, there have been steady cut backs in staffing. Parks Victoria (PV) now manages around 18% of Victoria’s land and coastal waters with fewer full-time staff than when it was established in 1996. Its permanent workforce shrank by 12% last year.

Now, a group of former PV staff have joined together to lobby for better funding for national parks and other protected areas. The Victorian Protected Areas Council (VPAC) brings together experienced park managers and rangers. You can read more below.

Victorian Protected Areas Council
Connecting Park Managers – Protecting National Parks

Ex-park managers unite to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Victoria’s National Parks Act
and fight for parks’ survival.

Former Victorian park managers have formed a powerful new advocacy group in response to
increasing concerns over the state government’s neglect and undermining of national parks.
The Victorian Protected Areas Council (VPAC) brings together experienced park managers
and rangers who are urging the Allan Government to restore funding for national parks and
other protected areas.

“It is ironic that this year marks the 50th anniversary of Victoria’s National Parks Act, which
created a representative system of protected areas under one management agency that is
recognised as one of the world’s best. But right now, their very survival is under threat,” said
VPAC President and former park ranger and manager, Felicity Brooke.

“Protected areas are the cornerstone of nature conservation in Victoria. They protect places
that Victorians have visited and loved for generations.”

Government agency Parks Victoria has been starved of resources, with its permanent
workforce cut by 12% in 2023/24 and many more redundancies since.

Parks Victoria has fewer staff now than when it formed in 1996, despite many more parks
and reserves under its protection, increased complexity of marine national parks, joint
management and constant recovery from flood fire and storm. “Is it any wonder that Parks
Victoria is struggling to meet the expectations of the community and Government?”, said Ms
Brooke.

The agency is mired in uncertainty, with vital experience and knowledge leaving, and short-
term contracts not being renewed.

“Some lobby groups appear to be having far too much influence over the Government,
misleadingly claiming that national parks are ‘locked up and left’ and are unavailable for
recreation. We strongly challenge this misinformation,” Ms Brooke said.

“Our members have spent their working lives dedicated to looking after people and parks.
We know these places and the many management challenges they face. With over 54
million visits to national and state parks annually, inaccessibility and lack of use is not one of
them.”

“The Victorian Protected Areas Council’s members have more than 1800 years of combined
experience in national park and other protected area management and the balancing of
conservation and recreation in them.”

“VPAC will provide an authoritative on-ground perspective to encourage and promote the
effective management of Victoria’s national parks, including appropriate recreation, and
their strategic expansion to fill gaps in the protected area network, as previously promised
by the State government.”

“The appointment of a new CEO and Board for Parks Victoria last week is positive news,
marking an opportunity for a new beginning for balancing the protection of natural and
cultural values and recreation in Victoria’s parks and reserves.”

“The new CEO and Board possess diverse skills in environmental and cultural heritage
management and the Victorian Protected Areas Council (VPAC) looks forward to working
with them.”

“It is concerning, however, that the Premier’s statement announcing the new leadership of
Parks Victoria makes six references to recreational access and only two to environmental and
one to cultural values. VPAC believes Parks Victoria’s new leadership team will need to strive
for a better balance between these sometimes-competing objectives.”

Recent opinion polling, conducted by Redbridge, showed 84% of Victorians value national
parks and 80% support the creation of new national parks. A separate nation-wide survey by
Monash University found nearly three quarters of Australians support the establishment of
new national parks and only 5% of people oppose them.

However, the Victorian government appears to be listening to a few vocal, minority, lobby
groups that are opposed to parks, rather than to the broader community.
VPAC will engage with the state government, protected area management agencies and
Traditional Owners around effective management and meeting community expectations.