PARK WATCH Article December 2025 |

After years of consultation, reports and panels, the Victorian Government has little to show in terms of permanent nature protection says Matt Ruchel, Executive Director

In 2019, the Victoria Labor Government announced a series of ‘Immediate Protected Areas’ (IPAs), described by the then environment minister as ‘the largest environmental protection plan in our state’s history’. After six years, two panel processes, a taskforce, and three Victorian Environment Assessment Council (VEAC) reports, there’s little to show for it.

Phase 1: Mirboo North and Strathbogie Ranges

In 2021 an Eminent Panel for Community Engagement (EPCE) began phase 1 of its work, looking at two IPAs, Mirboo North and Strathbogie Ranges. Informed by a VEAC desktop assessment and bio-cultural study, plus community consultation, the phase 1 report was released in August 2022. It provided 14 recommendations to enhance the future use and management of the Strathbogie Ranges, including a trial of new tenure called Cultural Reserves. It also recommended a Nature Conservation Park be created in Mirboo North. Three years later, these recommendations have been committed to and Mirboo North included in legislation to create new parks in the central west.

These decisions all predate the end of native forest logging. Originally, the government proposed to wind down logging by 2030. In May 2023 they brought the date forward, with logging to end on 1 January 2024. The media release at the time promised ‘The Government will establish an advisory panel to consider and make recommendations to Government on the areas of our forests that qualify for protection as National Parks…’. This flagged the establishment of what we now know as the Great Outdoors Taskforce (GOT).

Phase 2: Central Highlands

Meanwhile, phase 2 of the EPCE considered the future of the Central Highlands. As part of this process, VEAC completed an interim desktop assessment in December 2023. It concluded that:

A large protected area such as a national park is commensurate with the outstanding natural values of three large areas in the north and south …and would link the existing Yarra Ranges, Kinglake, Lake Eildon and Baw Baw national parks and the Bunyip, Cathedral Range and Moondarra state parks.

Sounds suspiciously like a big chuck of a potential Great Forest National Park!

Unfortunately, the community consultation around phase 2 was hijacked, or at least deeply flawed. Drop-in sessions were dominated by noisy anti-park groups. Many locals were not aware sessions were being held, and if they did attend, found the experience to be intimidating. Misinformation was rife.

In late 2024, the report given to government provided 33 recommendations about the future use and management of state forests in the Central Highlands. It was finally released to the public in October 2025, and included recommendations for significant additions to Yarra Ranges National Park and large forest parks. This included 68,570 ha of new national parks, 8121 ha of state parks, and 105,371 ha of forest parks, more than expected.

The government largely ignored these recommendations. Instead, they committed to add Yarra tributaries such as Armstrong Creek catchment and Cement Creek to the Yarra Ranges National Park, which are already in closed catchment areas (total about 5,000 ha; just 6.9 per cent of what was recommended).

Some of the most significant areas for conservation, like the mountainous escarpments surrounding the Baw Baw Plateau, remain completely unprotected.

Backwards steps

It took a year from the announcement of the end of native forest logging for the Great Outdoors Taskforce (GOT) to be established. It was created in April 2024, with a commitment of $5 million in the 2024 State Budget. GOT took over from the Eminent Person Panel for east Victoria. At this stage, GOT was tasked with identifying areas to add to the national parks estate.

Out of the blue, in October 2024, the purpose of the taskforce was changed. They stated ‘… the Taskforce will not be making any recommendation for large-scale changes to land tenure, including not creating any new national parks.’

This was a complete backflip on previous promises, which had included commitments to ‘The largest expansion to our forest reserve system in our state’s history.’

The dismay among conservation groups deepened in July 2025 when Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos announced at the Electrical Trades Union state conference that the Great Forest National Park was not Labor policy and would not be created. It was a clear signal the government was stepping back from its own process. The writing was on the wall, but the full implications were still unclear.

At the same meeting, plans to open 130,000 ha of Victoria’s Errinundra and Snowy River national parks to deer hunting were announced. This contradicts the 2016 Greater Alpine National Parks Management Plan. Another backward step.

Light on, lacklustre, lazy policy

This long and winding process culminated in October 2025 with the release of two GOT reports of close to 200 pages. The government provided only a token response. It included an announcement of $30 million for various projects.

While strong on rhetoric and guff, what we’ve been handed is a collection of small projects that don’t add up to genuine protection. It’s light on, lacklustre, lazy policy. Especially considering the amount of consultation, deliberation and hundreds of hours many community groups spent providing detailed comments.

There were four areas discussed:

1. Protecting our environment

  • A small expansion of the Yarra Ranges National Park by adding Yarra Tributaries Forest Reserve and Mirboo North Conservation Park (already in central west legislation).
  • Additional signs with ‘cues to care’ to be installed in national parks to encourage visitors to look after our great outdoors.
  • The need for existing legislation changes were cited to end loophole logging, but nothing new was announced.
  • Restoration of logging coupes that failed to regenerate after being logged. About 1200 hectares has been completed, but no estimate given about future work.

2. Resetting the management framework for state forests

  • Legislating of management purposes for the 3.2 million hectares of state forests to make sure they’re managed for multiple outcomes. However, the specifics of this change are unclear. This could be helpful in blocking future logging, but the recommendations were not specific.
  • $4 million for new DEECA education staff (none for enforcement staff).
  • Creating a new tenure of ‘cultural reserves’. These will likely be included in the long promised new Public Land Act, expected next year.
  • Enabling Traditional Owner collaborative governance, planning and management of forests. A welcome step but it lacks detail.

3. Working together for healthy forests

  • The main emphasis was $4 million for developing and piloting a new set of Healthy Forest Plans for Noojee and Orbost ‘…to keep our forests resilient, valued, accessible and open for all to enjoy.’

4. Driving, recreation and tourism investments in regional economies

  • A promise of $20 million for long-term maintenance of visitor infrastructure, a marketing campaign and four priority planning or infrastructure projects.

According to the GOT, ‘conservation and biodiversity emerged as the top priority across engagement, with climate change, invasive species (especially deer and blackberries), and old-growth forest degradation identified as urgent threats to be addressed’. These top priorities have been largely ignored. The refusal to look at large new protected areas and the failure to close loopholes are massive oversights in the response.

Native forest logging return?

GOT’s recommendation was very clear: ‘Change relevant legislation and regulations to prevent the return of large-scale commercial native timber harvesting in state forests.’

While light on specific legislative changes, it notes:

Commercial native timber harvesting has ceased in Victoria and native timber harvesting is not an intended use or value that state forests should be managed for. Healthy Forest Plans must not include management of state forests for native timber harvesting.

A change in policy or government could see native forest logging return with the stroke of a pen. There are obvious loopholes that need to be closed, including:

  • Forest Act 1958: enables the issuing of forest product licences that include timber/wood. It is the legal mechanism by which forestry was conducted in the 1980s and in the west of the state until it ended. Logging could start again with a simple issuing of licences.
  • Forests (Wood Pulp Agreement) Act 1996: this gives exclusive access to certain areas of the Central Highlands for pulp.
  • Private land logging: this is allowed through the state provisions for planning schemes. We’ve provided the government with detailed advice on how this can be changed to stop new proposals for native forest logging on private land.

The government said that ‘…there will be no further changes to our state forests…’ Their growing aversion to legislating for national parks and protected areas despite recommendations is hard to ignore.

Considering the popularity of parks, we hope wisdom will prevail before Labor trashes their own legacy. If they want any credibility on ending native forest logging, they need to close the loopholes.

And they need to reconsider their position on nature protection, before voters head to the polls next year.