Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority Board appointed

Former Surf Coast Shire mayor Libby Mears will chair the inaugural board of the soon to be established Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority.

Now based in Aireys Inlet, Ms Mears has lived on the Great Ocean Road for 20 years and currently sits on the boards of Surfing Victoria, the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, Leisure Networks and GForce Employment Solutions.

"Living in this little community in a beautiful part of the world means you don't take for granted the incredible privilege of raising children and having a life on the Great Ocean Road," she said.

"This role is all about creating a sustainable future for the road, environment and community, which has had a number of pressures building over many years.

"We love our coast to death at times, and have started to lose what people love most about the coast.

"People love the clean, open, natural environment, they don't care who manages it they just want to know when they go to the beach it's there and in its natural state and is protected.

"For me I'm very interested how to continue to respond to, and balance, the pressures around tourism. It's an important part of it - the tourism economy helps sustain many businesses and provide services for the local community.

"It's an important mix and interplay about getting the balance right."

Over 165 people applied to be on the board.

Ms Mears said it was still unknown how the authority would be funded.

"I'm still yet to learn that, it's not a conversation that has begun to be discussed," she said.

"Currently the coastal committees are funded using budget grants and revenue from camping and caravan parks, so I imagine they will make up an important part of the funding model.

"People get anxious about change and I hope with the makeup of the authority and board they can see the very strong values that sit around the table that will be looking to ensure protection and sustainable management of the road in the long term.

"It will not be about quick fixes, we need to think carefully through and plan the next six months of work we will be doing to help inform communities around the priorities of the authority."

The Great Ocean Road Communities Network was formed by local residents in response to the authority.

Network chair and Aireys Inlet and District Association president Charlotte Allen said she was "relieved" to see the board had diverse representation.

"We are extremely relieved about the makeup of the board, it seems to have good representation from along the coast and good skill-sets," she said.

"We formed the network in response to the authority, joining the network of community groups up and down the coast. A collective voice is more powerful than a single voice.

"We are absolutely hoping local communities will have a strong input and voice in the authority's decisions and that's certainly what the government has been saying, and we are hoping it will continue to be the case.

"Certainly the board of people along the coast is looking as though that's what their intention is. We will wait to see what happens."

Joining Ms Mears on the board is Avalon Airport Manager and former Geelong City council administrator Peter Dorling as deputy chair; Associate Professor of Marine Science Dr Daniel lerodiaconou who is based at Warrnambool's Deakin University Campus; Twelve Apostles Tourism and Business Group president David Pope; Landcare Australia chairman Douglas Humann AM; Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation chair Jason Mifsud; Jenny McMahon; Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism chair Wayne Kayler-Thomson; former DELWP planning deputy secretary Christine Wyatt; Australian Institute of Company Directors-trained Jodie Leonard; Koori, Wadawurrung woman from Western Victoria Sarah Eccles; and Founding Chair of Western Chances Terry Bracks AM.

The authority was set up on behalf of the state government to manage Crown land and coastal assets within the Great Ocean Road coast and parks.

It will commence operations by 1 December 2020 with coastal Crown land parcels being progressively transferred to the Authority over a number of years.

Some criticism has been leveled at the new authority from community groups, politicians and local councils along the Great Ocean Road, citing concerns over transparency, community input, funding streams and management of national parks and the environment.

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