By Dongyun Kwon
Former Healesville resident Ray Donkin found out the public toilets in Dom Dom Saddle Picnic Area were closed down a couple of weeks ago.
The Dom Dom Saddle Picnic Area is located at the northern end of Black Spur Drive along Maroonda Highway, and signs have been installed there to direct people who need to use toilets to either Fernshaw Picnic Ground or Narbethong Recreation Reserve.
Given that it’s summer now and more people are travelling and passing through the Black Spur Drive, Mr Donkin is worried about this inconvenient situation and said it’s “disgraceful”.
“They’ve been closed for a while. I didn’t believe it until I went down to have a look,” he said.
“Thousands of people go through there a week.
“Pressure should be put on the minister to put pressure on the department to reopen it.”
Dom Dom Saddle Picnic Area is managed by Parks Victoria.
Parks Victoria closed the Dom Dom Saddle Picnic Area toilets four years ago because the toilets were old, unsafe and beyond repair.
Parks Victoria prioritised maintaining toilets in nearby popular areas and one of the nearest toilets is at Fernshaw Picnic Ground.
Mr Donkin raised the issue of funding cuts by the state and local governments.
“It’s all about cutting costs,” he said.
Over the last two fiscal years, the government revised the budget for Parks Victoria to reduce the funding, and it was the first time in three years that the budget for Parks Victoria was allocated less than $200 million before the revision.
The Victorian Government slashed the budget for Parks Victoria in the 2024-25 fiscal year to $180 million from $215.2 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year which was eventually revised to $181.2 million.
In the 2022-23 year, it was set at $216.5 million which was revised to $193 million.
In the 2021-22 year, it was set at $207.6 million and revised to $208.4 million.
Besides the budget cut, Parks Victoria has faced several changes as environment minister Steve Dimopoulos announced the wide-ranging review and departure of Parks Victoria’s new chief executive officer Matthew Jackson in November last year.
“It’s clear that Parks Victoria’s current operations need to be improved to meet community expectations,” minister Dimopoulos said.
“I have therefore ordered a comprehensive review of Parks Victoria, to advise how the organisation can better serve the needs of Victorians and help them enjoy the great outdoors.
“The review will focus on Parks Victoria’s priorities, the delivery of its objectives under the Parks Victoria Act 2018, the organisation’s administration, finances, functions and delivery model – to identify ways the organisation reduce red-tape, improve customer service, and deliver better outcomes for Victorians.”
The review will be completed by March 2025 and will be overseen by the Victorian Government with the support of Korda Mentha.
Along with introducing the new chief executive officer, the minister also appointed Graeme ‘Gus’ Dear as interim chief executive officer of Parks Victoria.
After the minister’s announcement, concerns have been raised about the future of Victoria’s popular national parks and reserves, whose integrity is vital for both nature conservation and community wellbeing.
Victorian National Parks Association executive director Matt Ruchel said nature conservation groups had serious concerns about the move.
“It’s hard to see how major cuts to funding for Parks Victoria combined with an out-of-the-blue review meets community expectations,” he said.
“We are deeply concerned this is a trojan horse for dismantling hard-won nature protections.”
