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Snail pace fire recovery has camping areas still close
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Snail pace fire recovery has camping areas still close

With the September school holidays having arrived, Gippsland East Nationals MP, Tim Bull, said it is a disgrace many of the region’s popular camping parks were not open, or only partially opened due to snail pace fire recovery works.

“Here we are nine months after the fire and we do not have some of our most popular camping destinations open for business and being able to accept visitors.

“The disappointing element of this is that COVID provided the perfect timeframe for the State Government to do the work and make sure we were back at full capacity.

“It is disgraceful that after nine months we have only had some tenders recently go to the market place.

“There was much talk from members of the Government earlier this year that they would get us back on our feet quickly. If it was damage to public infrastructure on the Yarra River it would have been rebuilt within weeks,” said Mr Bull.

“Cape Conran is only partially open and popular destinations like Wingan Inlet are not open at all. This impacts on towns like Orbost and Cann River which need all the help they can get at the moment.

“The fact that some of the works are not due to be completed until 2021 after the Christmas holidays – and more than 12 months after the fires – it just not good enough.

“The State Government needs to have a works blitz in our region and make sure we are fully operational with all parks open and all infrastructure rebuilt prior to the Christmas holidays.”

Caption: Nationals Member for Gippsland East, Tim Bull, with Federal Nationals MP, Darren Chester, in front of the burnt-out East Cape boardwalk at Cape Conran which is not planned to be rebuilt until after the Christmas school holidays in 2021. There is no reason work cannot be completed in the three months before Christmas.

Monday, September 28, 2020