PARK WATCH Article March 2025 |

Jordan Crook, Parks and Nature Campaigner, celebrates park rangers in the face of government cuts

Victoria’s park rangers are vital and amazing! It’s a huge job looking after 18 per cent of the state and facilitating visits by over 55 million people a year and growing. All this while their budgets shrink and threats to ecosystems increase with invasive species and climate change.

At a time when habitats and wildlife need greater care, park rangers are critical workers. They care for and protect our national parks and natural areas while facilitating sustainable recreation and experiences.

Rangers are on the frontline of the extinction and climate crisis and are the thin green line between existence and extinction.

They’re essential planetary health workers. Rangers play a crucial role in achieving global commitments on biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, preventing zoonotic diseases and meeting Sustainable Development Goals.

In Victoria, rangers also protect and manage thousands of Aboriginal and post–European cultural and heritage sites and around 70 per cent of Victoria’s coastline.

The International Ranger Federation (IRF) recently released the inaugural State of the Ranger report. Designed to present a snapshot of the issues rangers face, it collated data and perspectives from rangers in the field and their conditions.

Rohit Singh, IRF Vice President, says an estimated 1.5 million new rangers will be required worldwide to meet the goal of protecting 30 per cent of our planet’s land area by 2030.

These findings are in stark contrast to the actions of the Allan Government. They’re planning further cuts to the resourcing of park rangers across Victoria at the cost of ranger numbers and their working conditions.

Cuts to park ranger numbers and resourcing will be a devastating blow to Victoria’s national parks and conservation reserves and wildlife and habitats found nowhere else on earth.

The work of park rangers saves the state billions in avoidance of disease, mortality and lost productivity in the agricultural sector. Not to mention their efforts in water purification, flood mitigation, coastal protection and carbon sequestration.

Thank you to our rangers for their critical work in protecting our parks and wildlife and the many special places we all hold close to our hearts.

Our elected representatives need to look after the people caring for our wildlife and places we love, not cut their resources and numbers.