The Nepean Conservation Group Inc
Reg. No. AOO 2079IU
PO Box 157, Sorrento, 3943
www.nepeanconservationgroup.org.au
The Hon. Matthew Guy MLC
Minister for Planning
GPO Box 2392
MELBOURNE Victoria 3001
20 September 2012
Submission from Nepean Conservation Group
Victorian State Government Planning Zone Reform
The Nepean Conservation Group (NCG) would like to register its grave concern
for the environment and amenity of the Mornington Peninsula under the
proposed State Government Planning Zone reforms.
The NCG supports the submission of the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
(MPSC) and would like to expand and add to some of the points raised in the
Shire’s submission, particularly with regard to the Green Wedge Zone proposals.
The proposed Planning Zone Reforms are a simplistic solution to a complex
series of issues.
What may suit one region will undermine the delicate balance of development
and rural/natural environment in another. This is the case on the Mornington
Peninsula and, we are certain, other regions of Victoria. In positively stimulating
economy and development in some areas, the Planning Zone Reforms will affect
amenity for all Victorians.
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The proposed Planning Zone Reforms may directly conflict with
recommendations in vital planning documents currently underway or
nearing completion.
With relevance to the Mornington Peninsula:

Metropolitan Strategy Review

Mornington Peninsula Planning Statement,

Regional Catchment Strategy

Green Wedge Audit
The introduction of major planning reforms deserves more critical
consideration, time for genuine community consultation and input from
current research on planning issues.
Local Research: Coastal Communities
NCG is proud to be a community partner in research currently being undertaken
by Deakin University into the effects of development in coastal communities:
Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Project: The ‘Sea change’
communities: intergenerational perception and sense of place (LP110200787).
The project team’s key objectives include evaluating the effectiveness of current
planning scheme provisions in achieving stated objectives and policies in two
Victorian coastal ‘Sea Change’ communities: Sorrento on the Mornington
Peninsula and Queenscliff on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Researchers are currently collecting data to quantify the changes in built form
character, vegetation cover, growth and type of development in these
communities over the last 50 years. Qualitative research in the form of
community input through focus groups on the question of character, identity
and ‘sense of place’ is also planned in the coming months.
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This research will directly and reliably inform planning debate and would
contribute materially to the reform of current planning policies and to designing
new planning strategies including zoning.1
Australian research: CSIRO report on biodiversity
In the first Australia-wide assessment of the impact of climate change on
biodiversity, scientists warn that although careful management of national parks
and reserves will continue to be effective in the conservation of our natural
environment, ‘conserving habitat on private land will be increasingly important
to help species and ecosystems adapt’ under climate change.2
Now more than ever the considered use of planning permits and mechanisms
must be utilized to reduce the spread of invasive weeds and introduced species
of flora and fauna from inappropriate, urban-style development on private land
in Green Wedge Zones. Careful stewardship of our private as well as public land,
parks and reserves is needed to assist delicate ecosystems to survive without the
additional stress of climate change. This is not the time to weaken planning
controls if our environment is to adapt to climate change and survive for future
generations.
The NCG urges the State Government to consider research such as this
before going ahead with planning reforms.
Environment
The MPSC submission states that it is paramount that existing ‘overlays remain
in place as they are based on considerations other than the availability of
For information regarding ARC LP 110200787 please contact Associate
Professor David Jones, Deakin University, david.jones@deakin.edu.au
2 ‘Major changes needed to protect species and ecosystems’ posted by Huw
Morgan, 19 September 2012, http://csironewsblog.com/ accessed 20 September
2012. To see the report Implications for policymakers: Climate change,
biodiversity conservation and the National Reserve System access
http://www.csiro.au/~/Media/CSIROau/.../NRSReport2012Summary.pdf
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sewerage including protection of environmental features (stream lines, native
vegetation etc) and landscape values’.3
This is only one of three mentions of ‘environment’ in the MCPS submission.
While it may seem that reserves and parks are not directly affected by the
Planning Zone Reforms they are. As the NCG and other conservation groups are
well aware, areas of natural habitat for our wildlife and the biodiversity in our
coastal and hinterlands are constantly under pressure from invasive species of
plants, introduced flora and fauna and pollution. If the Proposed Zoning Reforms
are realized this pressure will increase, further endangering the fragile
environment of the Mornington Peninsula.
It is a tragic irony that a Liberal government created the Green Wedge – a
thoughtful and foresighted legacy – only to be destroyed by another Liberal
Government whose legacy will not rouse the same respect in future generations.
The NCG’s vision is for people to understand and appreciate the natural, cultural
and built heritage that contributes to the sense of place of the Nepean Peninsula,
in order to protect and conserve the amenity and enhance the character of the
Nepean Peninsula.
In the words of the Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and
Heritage:
The Mornington Peninsula in my judgment is an oasis for Melbourne. It is a
retreat, a place of calm, a sanctuary. It has been that way for well over 100
years… and will, I believe, be maintained for the next 100 years if we get the
planning and the vision right at this moment. So it is an important juncture.
There are threats to the peninsula in terms of the balance between
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, ‘Submission in relation to the proposed
Planning Zone Reforms, September 2012, ‘Residential Zones –
Recommendations’ point 36.
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development and maintaining its character. It has been one of Australia's
outstanding examples of balanced and sustainable development. Right now, we
have an opportunity to get that balance right, not just for 30 years or for 50
years but for 100 years. That means creating a legacy for our children, our
grandchildren and our descendants over the next 100 years.
Greg Hunt, Federal Member for Flinders, Hansard 20 June 2012
Our hope is that the Victorian State Government shares this vision and will
reconsider these reforms.
On behalf of the Nepean Conservation Group Inc
Ursula de Jong
President
Email: president@nepeanconservationgroup.org.au
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