Mt Buffalo Chalet at risk

Source: Wangaratta Chronicle - 16 Jan 09

Jasper raises possibility of Govt “hidden agenda”

HAVE environmental groups set their sights on the iconic Mt Buffalo Chalet?

That’s the question that has been posed this week by Ken Jasper (MLA, Murray Valley), who fears that the chalet, closed and quickly falling into disrepair, could disappear altogether.

The chalet was closed following the failure of current lessees, the Burbank Group, to come to terms with the State Government over the funding of necessary upgrading work.

The group holds the lease until 2015, but says it is not prepared to invest money into the building unless it secures a longer lease and unless the government funds the connection of the electricity grid to the mountain.

However, Mr Jasper has raised questions about whether the government has any real intention of seeing the chalet, a Victorian holiday favorite for generations, ever re-open.

He has asked whether the government’s lack of action in securing the future of the chalet is part of a "hidden agenda".

"Fears have been expressed that environmental groups don’t want any accommodation or tourist facilities on the mountain, that they want it locked up as a heritage area.

"If the government continues to procrastinate, then this appears likely to happen," Mr Jasper said.

Mr Jasper asked what had happened to the $6m insurance payout that Parks Victoria had received following the destruction of nearby Cresta Lodge during the 2006-07 bushfires.

"Has it been invested or has it just gone into general revenue? Will this money, and the accumulated interest, be available to fund works needed to ensure the viability of this mecca for tourism?

"The whole situation appears to be at a standoff and the lack of positive action by the State Government is a disgrace," he said.

The Mt Buffalo Chalet was built by the State Government and opened in 1910. It closed its doors in January 2007.

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