THE state government is being pressed to release documents about the deal it has done with the Warrnambool Racing Club (WRC) over horse training on two Moyne Shire beaches.
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WRC was given permission to begin issuing licences from June 15 officially allowing training at Golfies and the Cutting, but no formal announcement was made on the matter. The agreement between the state government and WRC will be in place for 12 months.
Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) marine and coastal co-ordinator Chris Smyth said the public had not been provided enough information about the arrangement.
Mr Smyth said VNPA had issued a Freedom of Information application seeking a copy of the licence between the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) and the WRC.
VNPA is also after correspondence on the matter between DELWP and WRC.
A Freedom of Information request has also been placed seeking to compare WRC’s application “for consent to use the Belfast Coastal Reserve under section 37 of the Coastal Management Act” with a similar one the Warrnambool Horse Trail Riders Club had to apply for in order to get permission to ride horses in the reserve for a one-off event.
Mr Smyth said he wondered if such a WRC application existed, and questioned whether any laws or regulations had been broken by DELWP granting WRC permission to issue licences in a coastal reserve.
Belfast Coastal Reserve Action Group was also told it would need to make a Freedom of Information application in order to be provided with any details about the conditions of the horse training licences.
