Alternative funding models should be considered to ensure coastal assets are maintained, a Great Ocean Road tourism leader says.
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Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism general manager Liz Price said a user-pays system or business contributions were options to consider to keep coastal landmarks open to the public.
Ms Price said “competing demands on the public purse” meant funding public coastal assets would always be challenging.
“That’s where I think we’ve got to look at new opportunities.”
She said Parks Victoria’s announcement this week that it would shut the steps at Childers Cove due to safety concerns highlighted the importance of the Shipwreck Coast Master Plan and a long-term approach to how assets were funded and maintained.
“It’s always controversial to talk about how can other users of the assets and beneficiaries of the assets be contributing in some way, shape or form,” Ms Price said.
“Whether that’s public, private or partnerships – how can we get private business who are using and benefiting contributing? Do you get the user contributing?”
Ms Price said plans were “absolutely fundamental” to managing, developing and protecting assets.
“It’s very easy to get caught up in the environmental side of things, but to look after it you need the money to be able to do that,” Ms Price said.
She said the Childers Cove steps issue highlighted the coast’s fragility and the importance of sites that were accessible and well maintained.
“Because it’s a natural asset it’s easy to go ‘Parks Victoria should be maintaining it or renewing it’ but look at all the assets they’ve got and the dollars they’ve got to work with, they can't do it all.
“Parks is often the agency that gets the bad rap, but they have an enormous amount of public assets that have to be maintained or renewed.”
