Falls-Hotham Alpine Crossing Final PlanStephen Lake wrote about FHAC in April 2016, December 2016 and December 2017. A Final Plan was released in April 2018. In May 2018 Parks Victoria released the non-confidential submissions, under the heading Phase 3: Draft Master Plan. These submissions make interesting reading. PV advised that "Overall there was a positive response to the plan and its potential positive impact to the region." The submissions released in May show that this is false. Of about 195 published submissions just 10 support FHAC. The key issues remain – poor figures, poor economic modelling, no business case or EIS, the lodge on Diamantina Spur, bushwalkers' experiences compromised and more. Here's the link to the Bushwalk.com discussion.
The following are extracts from the Draft Management Plan submissions.
3 "Words cannot express my dismay".
17 "The draft plan does not provide sufficient baseline data on the specific ecosystems which will be impacted by the expansion in human use."
25 "31 new buildings, 21 deemed luxury huts and 10 large shelters which would destroy the peace and tranquility of the park, and threaten the environment both visually and literally.
28 "It is not possible to properly assess this plan as the environmental assessment and business case have not been released."
32 "This is pure nonsense from anyone who knows the Alps."
39 "The high plains are dangerous for the inexperienced on a long overnight walk."
58 "The business case as presented in the DMP is seriously lacking and does not include the rigour typically required for such proposals. It is based on limited data that has not been validated and appears to make wild assumptions about potential use."
82 "It is very misleading to leave off a figure for maintenance and operations costs. These will be very significant ongoing costs."
94 "The financial business case is dubious as I do not believe there are 17,000 walker nights on the track at present."
107 "The plan is essentially dishonest in nature."
172-74 "The reported current figure of 17,000 is equivalent to 70 people on the track every day for eight months, a simply incredible claim ... The headline benefit/ cost ratio of 7.66:1 is ludicrous. No maintenance/operations costs are included, benefits are inflated by an arbitrary 25% (‘consumer surplus') and a further 25% (approx) for ‘Value added to the Economy'."
316 "Just piss off and leave the high plains to be seen by future generations, as they are now and before more molestation."
345 "The draft plan itself is sloppy in production and full of errors, typographical, grammatical and factual."
352 "The plan contradicts itself."
461 Email subject line "Surely you can't be serious."
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