‘Only hope now is a change in government’: Owner of 12 Apostles site lashes plan to take his land

Landowners of a 32ha site opposite the 12 Apostles claim they were “fooled” by the Andrews government over plans for a tourist centre.

The Victorian government has grand plans for a visitor experience centre at the 12 Apostles and is compulsorily acquiring a family property to do it. Picture: Supplied

The owner of a massive parcel of land opposite the 12 Apostles has lashed a government plan to take the site from his family.

Richard Nessler’s family has owned the 32ha site since 1973, and for more than four years he has been fighting for planning permission to develop a tourist centre.

But the Andrews government is compulsorily acquiring the site to build its own tourist attraction despite criticism from locals and the tourism industry.

Speaking publicly for the first time Mr Nessler has accused the government of refusing to negotiate with him in good faith.

“The state government well over a year ago now sat down with us on a number of occasions to talk under the guise of our planning permit for development on that site,” he said.

“We were fooled by them. We were a bit naive thinking that they would like to talk with us.

“They just garnered all our information and our plan and have gone and done their own thing with that.”

An artist impression of Mr Nessler’s plan. Picture: Supplied

Plans for the government’s new tourist centre were announced in 2019 as part of a joint initiative between the Victorian and Commonwealth governments.

The centre will form a key part of the $108.15m redevelopment.

The move has angered locals who say the government would be better investing money in roads and coastal tracks and parks.

“I think the only hope now is a change in government,” Mr Nessler said.

“We’ve got multiple political parties saying that if they were to come into power, they would overturn this decision to compulsorily acquire the land.

“They would leave this in the private sector because they know that this can be delivered better and ultimately, produce more dollars for the state in revenue than a government built and managed facility.”

He has accused the government, who is compulsorily acquiring the site, of as part of the Andrews government’s Precinct Redevelopment Project.

“GORRT has been a long term supporter of development of high quality visitor experiences across the Great Ocean Road region and at the 12 Apostles,” he said.

An artist’s impression of the government’s plan. Picture: Supplied

“The Great Ocean Road Visitor Economy Master Plan 2021-2030 identifies the desperate need to develop high quality visitor experiences to grow length of stay, dispersal and yield

to drive sustainable outcomes for the visitor economy.

“Government has not yet announced what will be built at the site, outside of upgrades to some of the lookouts.

“It is GORRT’s belief that the private sector is best placed to deliver commercial attractions and, especially in a post, Covid environment we need to be supportive of existing businesses

and the private sector investing in the visitor economy.

“The 12 Apostles precinct needs to be a world class visitor experience. It needs to facilitate access to the National Park and connect visitors to the breadth of experiences both in the

immediate vicinity and across the broader region.”

The government was contacted for comment.