Native title plan to get Gippsland Aboriginal community 'at coalface' of new tourism opportunities
Posted
New walking tracks, signage, eateries and even accommodation are being considered under an ambitious roadmap aimed at creating jobs and improving the lives of Aboriginal people in Gippsland.
Parks, reserves covered by plan:
- Buchan Caves Reserve
- Corringle Foreshore Reserve
- Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park
- Gippsland Lakes Reserve on Raymond Island
- Lake Tyres State Park
- The Lakes National Park
- Mitchell River National Park
- Tarra-Bulga National Park
- The Knob Reserve
- New Guinea Cave II
It is the first plan of its type in Victoria covering 10 parks and reserves, and follows the Gunaikurnai tribal groups' long battle for native title recognition over much of the region.
Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio is expected to sign off on the historic joint management plan by the middle of this year following consultation with local people.
Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation CEO Roger Fenwick said the plan seeks to promote the ancient culture through new projects and business opportunities.
"From actual ongoing tourism operations, partnering with current tourism operators, getting joint investment opportunities with accommodation, catering," he said.
The Gunaikurnai Corporation's headquarters near Lakes Entrance could become a "cultural hub" and include cafes, other meeting spots and training facilities, Mr Fenwick said.
"Getting Aboriginal people right at the coalface in terms of making decisions about managing country together with other agencies," he said.
Damian Britnell from the Gunaikurnai Traditional Owner Land Management Board said nothing was off the table, including Aboriginal-run accommodation facilities, cultural signage and new or improved walking tracks.
"At Buchan Caves Reserve for example, there's an information centre, which at the moment has very little information around Gunaikurnai and Aboriginal culture," he said.
"There's another one at Tarra-Bulga and so there's opportunities to look at these visitors' centres and improve them."
Document can't 'sit on the shelf'
Some of the projects being talked about would come at a significant cost and the Gunaikurnai people said additional funding would be crucial to realising the ambitions of the plan.
Ms D'Ambrosio has committed to providing extra government money but said an exact figure was not yet known.
"Our Government's commitment is a genuine one," she said.
"We aim to deliver real, lasting, long-term, sustainable benefits for cultural heritage and economic wellbeing for traditional owners."
Mr Fenwick said progress on implementing the plan must be quick to maintain the support of the Aboriginal community.
"We don't want it to be a document that sits on the shelf, so we'll be holding government and our partners to account and pushing really hard," he said.
Gunaikurnai ranger Grattan Mullett Jnr hopes the joint management plan inspires other indigenous groups in Victoria to take control of their future.
"We have one of the biggest native title claims in Victoria so hopefully it gives a lot of other people a bit of an idea about what they can do and bring back to their own country," he said.
"I think this is going to better us as Gunaikurnai people."
Topics: tourism, lifestyle-and-leisure, travel-and-tourism, rural, rural-tourism, community-and-society, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, aboriginal, states-and-territories, lakes-entrance-3909, vic
