- Target:
- State and Federal politicians
- Region:
- Australia
- Website:
- www.vnpa.org.au
Thank you so much for having supported the Hands off our Parks petition in the past. We now have a new petition aimed at convincing the Victorian Government of the urgent need to fully fund Parks Victoria, and if you haven't signed it already we thought you might like to do so today.
Called Rescue our Parks our new campaign is off to a great start, with more funds being allocated to national parks in the 2016-17 state budget – but it’s still not enough to keep our parks healthy now and into the future.
Our national parks and other nature conservation reserves don't get the management and resources they need and deserve.
Fortunately, we have a government that has come to power promising it is 'committed to the creation of a world class system of national parks for all Victorians to enjoy, and will invest in those parks'.
Please sign our online petition now to Rescue our Parks at https://www.change.org/p/rescue-our-parks
Victoria’s national parks are under serious attack.
The Victorian Government has announced guidelines to throw the state's national parks open to proposals for 99 year commercial leases for tourism development – this is as good as private ownership.
Unique and sensitive environments like Wilsons Promontory could be damaged by the construction of giant hotels or similar, even though there’s plenty of room for accommodation and development just outside the park.
We could see cheap commercial developments spoiling Victorians’ favorite places, like the Alpine National Park, Croajingalong and the Otways.
The State Government might as well be putting up a ‘for sale’ sign on our national heritage.
National parks are the cornerstone of nature conservation.
They protect threatened plants and animals, like the Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby, the Sooty Owl and a host of other endangered species.
More importantly, they give essential protection to healthy ecosystems, ensuring our extraordinary natural heritage of around 100,000 native species will be with us for all time.
National parks and conservation reserves also give us clean water, fresh air and opportunities for great adventure, recreation, rest and respite for millions of Australians.
And they more than pay their way, generating far more tourism dollars than they cost to manage.
We must hand them on to future generations in good condition so they can enjoy them, and benefit from them, as we do.
Our elected representatives, Prime Minister, Premier, and all state and national parliamentarians, please take note!
I believe national parks should be cherished, not developed for hotels, dug up for mining, or opened up for cattle grazing, logging or other damaging activities.
I ask you to respect the integrity of our great parks and reserve system. I ask you to pledge to defend our parks from damaging activities, and strive for proper management of our national parks and conservation estate.
The Hands off our national parks! petition to State and Federal politicians was written by Victorian National Parks Association and is in the category Environment at GoPetition.