Labor fails to deliver on 2020 promise to rebuild burnt out tourist sites

Labor has failed to rebuild tourism facilities, bridges, walks and campsites that were burnt out in the 2019-20 East Gippsland fires.

East Gippsland’s Thurra River bridge has been demolished. but not replaced four years on from the 2019-20 bushfires. Picture: Rylee Pardew

The Allan Government has crippled East Gippsland communities by failing to rebuild tourism facilities after the 2019-20 bushfires and then terminating the timber industry on January 1 this year.

In September 2020 the Labor Government promised $18.5 million towards a Gippsland Tourism Recovery Package to rebuild fire damaged tourism facilities, bridges, access to campsites and walks.

At the time then Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the investment would “attract more visitors than ever to experience this iconic part of Victoria”, rebuilding access to Cape Conran’s cabins and access to sites such as Point Hick’s Lighthouse so they could be “enjoyed for generations to come.”

But four years on the Thurra River bridge, giving tourists access to the adjoining camp ground and Point Hick’s Lighthouse has not been rebuilt.

Tourists are still unable to access Thurra River campground and Point Hicks Lighthouse accommodation four year’s on the 2019-20 summer fires.

Parks Victoria’s website still states “visitors are unable to access the Point Hicks Lighthouse, Thurra River Campground, and nearby walking tracks”, due to “the 2019-20 bushfires and coastal erosion caused by ongoing heavy rainfall”.

Further west, Cape Conran’s tourist cabins that were razed to the ground by the January 2020 fires have not been replaced and a government promise to connect drinking water and sewage to the campground has not been delivered, along with a shared pedestrian bike path from Marlo to the Cape.

Even the swing bridges on the McKenzie River Rainforest walk have not been repaired, which is the top tourist attraction on Princes Hwy between Orbost and Cann River.

The road into the Yeerung River Gorge, is still closed.

Tourists have also not been able to visit the picturesque Yeerung Gorge, due to the failure of Parks Victoria to repair the access bridge.

Nationals Gippsland East MP Tim Bull said even promises to upgrade jetties at Mallacoota, immediately after the fires, had not been completed.

The Orbost and District Chamber of Commerce has repeatedly contacted Parks Victoria, with its chief executive Matthew Jackson pleading for sites to be reopened, but keep being told the work takes time and is complex.

Chamber of Commerce secretary Garry Squires said: “The government promised to look after us and tourism was the answer, but the infrastructure has not been rebuilt.”

Mr Squires said the situation was made worse by the government’s decision to shut down native forest timber harvesting, which had forced many younger families to leave, while older workers with deep routes and homes in Orbost and other towns struggled to find jobs.

A Parks Victoria spokesman said “Recovery and rebuilds on some key projects continue – these can be complex and take time.

“We understand their importance to the Gippsland community and focused on progressing through the remaining planning and delivery stages.

“These recovery projects are part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to improving tourism infrastructure across Victoria’s east, to maximise the economic benefits of tourism and support local jobs after the devastating effects of the Black Summer bushfires.”

A spokesman for the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, which is responsible for replacing the Thurra River bridge, said it had been demolished and “site preparation works were underway”.

DEECA estimates the bridge should be completed “by late 2025”.