Federal parliamentarian Darren Chester will be in a unique position to inspect rock‐slide damage on the Great Ocean Road when he contests the 45km Great Ocean Road Marathon from Lorne to Apollo Bay on Sunday, May 15.

The member for Gippsland and Shadow Secretary for Roads and Regional Transport is lining up in the iconic race for the fifth occasion and has a personal best time of 3hours 33mins for the twisting, undulating trek.

The five‐event distance running festival has attracted about 3500 competitors from 12 countries, but the 700 plus starters in the Lorne‐Apollo Bay run will have to negotiate at least four cordoned‐off areas affected by landslide damage from flooding earlier this year.

VicRoads has assured event organisers that everything will be in order for the seventh staging of the festival which includes a 14km TAC Wheelchair Athletes’ Challenge, offering an all expenses paid trip to the 2012 Honolulu Marathon for the winner.

The festival, sponsored by Great Ocean Road Real Estate, has been somewhat of a magnet for fitness‐conscious parliamentarians since its inception.

Former State Tourism Minister Tim Holding, now Shadow Finance Minister, is a regular in the marathon and former long‐term Federal Member for Corangamite, the 73‐year‐old Stuart McArthur, will contest the Fagg’s Mitre 10 half‐marathon for the seventh time.

Late entries for all five events on the festival program are still being taken on‐line at www.greatoceanroadmarathon.com.au or by phoning Caribou Publications on 03 5224 2466.

See you on our coast.

The Heritage Minister, Tony Burke, this week announced that the Great Ocean Road and Bells Beach are to be heritage listed.

The listing will see the area benefit from increased funding, greater environmental and cultural protection and an amplified presence in the global tourism arena, alongside other listed icons such as Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.

The area is the Country’s 92nd national heritage inclusion and is one of only 20 coastal zones that have made the list.

See you on our coast – the Great Ocean Road.

The redevelopment of Apollo Bay harbour was estimated through the Enquiry by Design process to cost approximately $44.7m in a combination of public funds and private investment. To spend this kind of money, government departments and investors need more that a concept plan.

So Colac Otway Shire has been lobbying the State Government since the Enquiry by Design to fund the next stage of the process which is an amendment to the Colac Otway Shire Planning Scheme.

This would produce a detailed Harbour Precinct Plan and a detailed planning framework for inclusion in the Planning Scheme, which will provide surety to the community, Government and investors of what, is able to be developed within the Harbour Precinct.

On 14^th October 2010, the State Government announced a grant of $95,000 to complete the Planning Scheme Amendment, on top of $160,000 received from Tourism Victoria earlier in the year.

“The new planning framework will provide a basis upon which Council can consider proposals and provide valid grounds upon which inappropriate development can be considered and refused to ensure the Apollo Bay Harbour is developed in an appropriate way into the future.” COE Rob Small said.

See you in Our Backyard.