Hansard debates

Dr RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (13:51:33) — I am pleased to rise to speak on this bill. For many years the Greens have strongly argued that stricter planning controls should apply to Victoria's natural landscapes and environment. For too long we have seen parts of our state carved up and sold off for development, with the focus seemingly on profit over protecting our environment and our communities. We are pleased that this bill aims to preserve Victoria's most precious areas and landscapes and will put in place measures to protect them from the unchecked development we have seen in other parts of our state.

The bill gives the Minister for Planning the power to declare an area of Victoria as a distinctive area and landscape. Victoria is home to many such areas. From the ranges of the Grampians to the plains and valleys along the Murray River to the coast of the Mornington Peninsula, our state is rich in natural beauty, and our regions attract thousands of visitors each year. In the Macedon Ranges region — the first region to be declared a distinctive area and landscape — there is Hanging Rock, Mount William and the ranges themselves, which are home to several rare, endangered or threatened species. Our state is also rich in cultural heritage. Our land clearly bears the imprint of thousands of years of Aboriginal settlement, and their connection to country remains strong today.

This bill comes at a fitting moment, as in times of significant growth our areas of natural and cultural heritage are often the first to be targeted by developers and the first to be given away by governments from both sides of this house. Currently Victoria's population is growing, and we now have both the largest and the fastest growth rates in the country. At a time of such rapid population growth it is even more important that we plan for sustainable, careful development in our cities and towns. We are proud of the things that make our state such a great place to live and work as well as raise a family, and we are pleased to welcome record numbers of new Victorians to our state. But we also need to protect the things that make our state so livable and balance new development with investments in public transport and local services while protecting our green spaces and landscapes. We should be providing the necessary transport, community and other infrastructure simultaneously with if not before we approve new development on this scale.

Currently in Melbourne we have the urban growth boundary and the green wedges, which are meant to prevent unsustainable urban sprawl into areas that provide our food bowls and our forests and places for our cities to breathe. However, as our population swells and Melbourne continues to expand rapidly, developers are turning their attention to peri-urban areas — those regions within commuting distance to the city but with more available land than metropolitan Melbourne and without the same restrictions on development.

The Greens do not want to see our regional centres fall prey to the advance of developers, who have seemed more interested in profit than the wellbeing of our communities at times, and so we are pleased that the mechanisms provided for in this bill will help protect these areas. While this bill was introduced to resolve planning issues around the Macedon region, the provisions of the bill can be applied to other parts of Victoria, and there is currently a particular focus on other peri-urban areas, such as the Bellarine and Mornington peninsulas. As so many parts of our state are rich in both natural beauty and cultural heritage, the Greens strongly encourage the government to apply this level of planning protection to more of our state. I would particularly advise the minister to consider declaring the Yarra Ranges a distinctive area as continued native forest logging has threatened the region's biodiversity and ecosystems.

When the minister declares an area of Victoria as a distinctive area and landscape, a statement of planning policy will be prepared for the declared area, which will set a framework for future development of the area. We hope that the statements of planning policy will set a new benchmark for sustainable land use planning in Victoria. There is an opportunity here for us to set an example to the rest of Australia and show that it is possible to have appropriate, sustainable planning that limits urban sprawl and integrates infrastructure, public transport, local services and planning while protecting our heritage and environment.

Unfortunately there are already signs that the worthy aims of the bill will not be reflected in subsequent planning policies. In the Macedon region, the first area to receive a localised planning statement, the community is increasingly concerned that the statement fails to give the ranges and surrounding towns the protection they need. A local residents group has described the draft planning statement as 'an urban growth plan of epic proportions' and says that the 2016 recommendations of the Macedon Ranges Protection Advisory Committee have not been addressed.

The Greens firmly believe that local communities must have ongoing, substantive and meaningful participation in planning decisions. We know that this government has prioritised developers over the community before, handing developers prime pieces of real estate and huge profit margins at the expense of residents. The Macedon community has been passionately fighting to protect their region and their towns, and I urge the planning minister to listen to their concerns and work with the community to develop the final planning statement.

We will be supporting this bill, and we look forward to seeing more of Victoria protected from the grasp of developers. However, we will be watching the progress of the Macedon Ranges planning statement very closely. This is a real opportunity for Victoria to show the rest of the country how we can plan for growth while putting protection before profits. We strongly suggest that the minister listens to the Macedon Ranges community and works with them to ensure the region gets the protection it needs.