The headquarters of the new Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) will be set up in Torquay, with district offices planned for Apollo Bay and Port Campbell.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio said GORCAPA was a key part of reforms intended to protect the popular tourist destination.
“The Great Ocean Road and Environs Protection Bill 2019 was introduced into Parliament last year and passed through the Legislative Assembly last night,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
“The legislation will reform the management of the Great Ocean Road with the GORCAPA delivering a more coordinated and sustainable approach to land and visitor management,” she said.
“Existing management arrangements for the road are complex and fragmented, with 11 different Crown land managers having responsibility along the length of the road with no clear overarching plan.”
Ms D’Ambrosio said all staff that worked for existing committees of management which were set to be incorporated into GORCAPA would retain their jobs, conditions and working locations.
“The Great Ocean Road is an international tourism drawcard with more visitors each year than Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef combined,” she said.
“Like many popular tourist sites, it is facing increasing pressures from increasing visitor numbers, natural processes and the impacts of climate change,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
