Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

It gives me great pleasure to follow the member for Gippsland, and before him the member for Mallee, because the Victorian Labor government's decision is extraordinary. You would think that a state government that is broke and is about to go into official receivership would be doing everything it could, when it had an asset, to ensure that it got the balance right with the decisions it made. You'd think that, if there was a need to protect something for cultural heritage, you'd be able to do it in balance in a unique rock climbing part of the globe where people from overseas go their hundreds to rock climb. Yet the wherewithal of the Allan Labor government meant they did nothing of the sort. What they did was just say no without any consultation: 'We are going to close this unique area of rock climbing.'

Now, I love the Grampians, and one of the fantastic things I have been able to contribute is $10 million for the wonderful Grampians Peak Trail. I love the fact that people can explore the Grampians, but also do so in a very respectful way, knowing and understanding the cultural heritage of the place.

But what has occurred with Mount Arapiles is nothing short of a disgrace. The Allan Labor government needs to have a good hard look at itself, because simply shutting something down without consultation, especially without consultation of the rock climbing industry, is a disaster. Now, you've got to remember that the rock climbing industry are not people who seek in any way not to understand the environment they are climbing on, not to understand the cultural heritage of the place, or not to want to work with the local Indigenous groups to make sure that they get the right balance that would respect those unique cultural heritage places but also enable rock climbing on one of the great rock climbing peaks in the world. People have built businesses around it. People have come to live in that area so they can climb Mount Arapiles. Yet what did the Allan Labor government do? Without consultation, they just shut it down.

The thing that was the most damning, which showed you what an appalling decision it was, was when the environment minister, Steve Dimopoulos, went up to the area and did a radio interview on ABC. He was asked about the decision to close Mount Arapiles, and he'd done so little research on what had occurred that he couldn't even pronounce 'Mount Arapiles'. Now, if you're going to do something that impacts like that, at least have the decency to go up there, talk to the community, understand its importance and make sure you know, inside and out. what is taking place, instead of just going up there and basically treating the local community with complete and utter disrespect.

The worst thing about this is that it sends a signal to the rest of the state of Victoria as to what could be next from this Victorian Labor state government. At the moment they're going through treaty negotiations. and once again we are getting no transparency about what is occurring there. There is no broad community consultation about what's going on. If what has happened at Mount Arapiles is any indication of what might happen with the broader negotiations, then we're going to see the rest of Victoria treated with complete and utter disrespect.

So, I 100 per cent back this motion from the member for Mallee. We need this reopened. We need the federal Labor government to step in and ask serious questions of the state Labor government and for the state Labor government to do proper consultation with the local community on this.

Debate adjourned.

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