The community group says the condition of the 160-year-old park should be a live issue in nearby seats including Albert Park, Prahran and Melbourne.
Its plan calls on political parties and candidates to address what it says is decades of state government neglect and put the “park” back into Albert Park.
The group says its priorities reflect the concerns of many of the 20,000 daily visitors who use the 160-year-old “People’s Playground”. It argues the park has increasingly been managed for commercial activity rather than as a major public open space.
Rescue plan long overdue
At the centre of the group’s priorities is an eight-year, $125 million funding plan. Lake ALIVE! wants the next government to allocate an extra $20 million in park improvement funding in its first year, followed by at least $15 million a year, for basic repairs including broken seats, collapsing bluestone retaining walls, crumbling lake edges and pothole-ridden pathways. The group says this should be separate from major infrastructure projects and ongoing sports grants.
‘Seven times as many respondents visit the park for walking than for formal sports, but almost none of the spend on the park has benefited these informal users,’ the group stated, citing a recent Parks Victoria survey.
Tighter leash for GP Corp
The group is also calling for governance and environmental reforms covering the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. It says the Grand Prix build and pack-down disrupts the park for six months of the year, and wants the Grand Prix Act changed so the corporation is bound by the same environmental and litter laws as the public. It also wants cable ties added to Victoria’s banned single-use plastics list after members collected thousands of discarded ties following the 2026 event.
Lake ALIVE! says environmental concerns are reaching a critical point, with more than 1,400 birds dying from suspected avian botulism over an 18-month period and 24 native species disappearing from the park since 1990. Its proposed ecological priorities include lake aeration systems, a dedicated ranger vessel and two wildlife officers in the operational budget.
‘The neglect of Albert Park must be stopped,’ Lake ALIVE! convenor Kelly Brennan said, inviting political leaders and candidates to join her for a walk around the lake to see the beauty and neglect firsthand.
