Landcare volunteers from East Gippsland, Latrobe catchment, West Gippsland and Bass Coast attended state parliament to celebrate 40 years of the valued community based program.
Member for Eastern Victoria, Melina Bath who is also Shadow Minister for Public Land Management was a gold sponsor of the bipartisan parliament event that celebrated Landcare’s success with state MPs.
Landcare Victoria boasts over 90,000 volunteers who work collaboratively to restore local habitats, improve sustainable agricultural activity and develop the strength and resilience of our local areas.
Speaking in state parliament Ms Bath congratulated local Landcare volunteers and facilitators for the important habitat restoration work they perform and called on the State Government to deliver program funding certainty.
“Landcare Victoria is a proven success story delivering highly quantifiable value with a verified $7:1 return on investment, it deserves to have reliable and long term funding granted by the State Government,” she said.
Ms Bath called on Labor’s Minister for Environment to commit to consistent, long-term funding for Landcare facilitators so they can plan and coordinate projects for the future.
“The inconsistent funding model for Landcare places the resilience of our natural landscapes at risk and leaves our environment vulnerable to deterioration.
“Landcare facilitators and volunteers are incredibly dedicated and already achieve great results with limited resources on a shoestring budget.
“With secure funding they would be better equipped to expand their efforts, improve environmental outcomes and deliver even greater benefits for our community.
“It is highly remiss of the Allan Government to recognise Landcare’s contribution but fail to deliver program funding that extends beyond two years.”
