PARK WATCH Article September 2024 |

The Victoria Government’s scheme for the Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing stands as a huge white elephant, says Gerard McPhee

Earlier this year, the Allan Government received a second Environmental Impact Statement for the Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing which fails to alleviate fears of damage to one of the state’s most important protected areas.

As long-time Park Watch readers will be aware, the project will see the construction of four tourist hubs in the Bogong High Plains and Mt Feathertop area, the heart of the Alpine National Park. Parks Victoria will build these hubs, but private operators will manage them.

This project isn’t about park management; it represents taxpayer-funded exploitation of the nature and wildlife the park was established to protect.

In 2022, a feedback process on the draft designs saw more than 6,000 people visit the Engage Victoria project page. Dozens attended ‘pop-up’ sessions in local towns, with over 640 responses submitted.

A report summarising the feedback revealed widespread vocal opposition to the proposal. Concerns included environmental impacts, misalignment with the purpose of national parks, over-visitation, the potential cost to stay in the huts, the accuracy of economic information in the business case, and safety issues.

A litany of threats

The 2024 Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA) identified that the project would affect 66 threatened plants, including three listed as Critically Endangered. Raising concerns about the habitat for 137 threatened plants, it recommended targeted surveys to examine their presence, location and population size.

The list includes 17 plants endemic to Victoria and 15 confined to the Bogong High Plains/Mt Hotham area, including precious long-unburnt Snow Gums. Of the 73 native animals recorded, ten are threatened and five Critically Endangered, including Alpine Tree Frogs, Spotted Tree Frogs, Guthega Skinks, Alpine She-oaks and Colubotelson joyneri, a freshwater isopod.

The report clearly states the project would need to be referred under national nature laws as there would be adverse impacts on a number of Matters of National Environmental Significance. This would likely trigger a formal Environmental Effect Statement process adding further costs and delays.

The proposal will exclude some lower-income Victorians from the alpine areas they have loved and enjoyed for decades. Some of the best free camping spots will be reserved for those able to pay $400 per night for more comfort. The well-off ‘comfort in nature’ seekers are already well accommodated in the Alps.

Despite years of delays, the project isn’t due for completion until late 2025. Steve Dimopoulos, Minister for Environment, told Parliament on 25 June 2024, that Parks Victoria has yet to determine the final project scope, design, and operating model.

So, we don’t know the scope, cost, or even the route of the project, despite an apparent spend of about $15 million out of the possible $40 million in the project business case since the first imagining of the trail in 2015!

Monestising the wild

Nature-based tourism in the state would be better served by promoting Victoria as a great short walk destination, supported by a range of accommodation adjacent to parks.

The Bogong High Plains can easily host a remarkable and memorable series of walks accessed from existing shelters. But, for developers, every night in a free public hut is seen as a missed business opportunity!

The money earmarked for this project could be much better used dealing with the raft of management problems or even fixing some of the existing facilities. The Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing project should be scrapped entirely and the money refocused along with its key premise of civilising and monetising the wild.

Find out more at vnpa.org.au/stop-alpine-park-development