The popular Parks Victoria Junior Ranger program is not running any activities in the entire east of the State due to “ranger availability and capacity”.

Gippsland East Nationals’ MP, Tim Bull, said this was clearly a result of the Parks Victoria cuts to front line staff.

“There is a lot of time and effort going into making our region a winter tourism destination, including the amazing East Gippsland Winter Festival, that runs for a month and has an incredible level of volunteer contribution.

“A lot of time and effort goes into making our region a winter tourism destination, largely driven by the East Gippsland Winter Festival, a month-long event that showcases the community’s creativity and relies heavily on volunteer effort.

“But as we work through the recovery from the fires and Covid, which takes several years, Parks Victoria is cutting one of the more popular activities for children,” Mr Bull said.

“I have been contacted by parents who were looking forward to having their children participate in the program.

Disappointingly, the excuse Parks Victoria puts up is that it has a “reduced program due to ranger availability in the field” and the program is implemented only in the areas Parks has capacity to do so.

“This of course is not the fault of the Parks’ employees on the ground, it is a result of budget cuts to front line staff that removes the capacity for this to occur, and we all know the reason is that every dollar is being sucked into paying down state debt and the Suburban Rail Loop,” Mr Bull said.

“When you are paying $28 million per day in interest alone on your debt, this is the result. Labor cannot manage money, and families are paying the price."

Friday, 4 July 2025