Treating Western Port and the region as an entity is the best way to safeguard it. Photo: Western Port Protection Council By Neil Daly
IN THE series of articles I’ve written in the Bass Coast Post concerning Western Port and its environs, I’ve presented a case that Western Port and its region should be considered as an all-inclusive entity.
The reason I raise this is that the State Government, ably supported by the work of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and input from the Bass Coast community, has tabled the Bass Coast Distinctive Area and Landscape - Draft Bass Coast Statement of Planning Policy document for public consultation.
Depending on your perspective, the Bass Coast Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) project may be a good or a flawed plan.
IN THE series of articles I’ve written in the Bass Coast Post concerning Western Port and its environs, I’ve presented a case that Western Port and its region should be considered as an all-inclusive entity.
The reason I raise this is that the State Government, ably supported by the work of the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and input from the Bass Coast community, has tabled the Bass Coast Distinctive Area and Landscape - Draft Bass Coast Statement of Planning Policy document for public consultation.
Depending on your perspective, the Bass Coast Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) project may be a good or a flawed plan.
In my case, I raise the point that the issues covered by the DAL publication are applicable not only to the Bass Coast Shire but also to the rest of Western Port and its region, for the land and Western Port are interdependent, as are the other activities associated with this area.
To me, concentrating on one part of this region and separating the four councils bordering Western Port demonstrates a lack of understanding of the environmental, agricultural, tourism, and the social and economic links these areas share.
Yet in the “Introduction” to the DAL document, it addresses the wider regional issues I speak of. For in part it states: “A sustainable approach to planning and managing peri-urban and regional areas recognises, conserves and enhances their unique attributes — their landscape character, biodiversity and environment and Aboriginal cultural and historic heritage — and ensures that development responds appropriately to them. At the same time, the things that make peri-urban and regional areas prosperous must be recognised, protected and enhanced: productive rural land and natural resources, local businesses, sustainable tourism, and transport and essential services infrastructure.”
It may not be too difficult to declare the other councils in this region (Cardinia, Casey and Mornington Peninsula) as distinctive areas. “Under sections 46AO and 46AP of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, the Minister can declare an area a distinctive area and landscape if it has particular, distinctive attributes and is under threat of significant or irreversible land use changes that would affect its environmental, social or economic value.”
If the Minister takes up this option, the DAL project could become part of the framework for a strategic management plan as outlined in my article Hello Spring Street, are you listening?
In that article, I reasoned that a management plan would need to be founded on a business plan. The current DAL document picks up on this approach and under “Our vision”, identifies key priorities that could become common goals for the Western Port region.
Running parallel with the DAL document are two proposals being considered by the State Government that have a bearing on this discussion:
Planning for Melbourne’s Green Wedges and Agricultural Land states: “The Victorian Government is committed to protecting Melbourne’s green wedges and keeping farms on our urban fringes working and producing for generations to come. Some of Victoria’s most productive agricultural land is within 100 km of central Melbourne. As our climate changes, the ideal conditions of agricultural land become even more important to Victoria’s food production.”
Based on the theme of “Our Region Our Environment Our Future”, the draft Port Phillip & Western Port Regional Catchment Strategy is a comprehensive document and “broadly describes how land, water and biodiversity is managed across the region, highlights the connections between them, and identifies targets for the future health and resilience of the region’s environment.”
So in a move to resolve the issues that have plagued Western Port and its environs for the last 50 years or so, surely the time has come to treat Western Port and the region as one entity, and starting with the documents mentioned, put in place a Western Port Strategic Management Plan protected by legislation and administered by one statutory authority.
If done, it may, for example, open up opportunities to solve the standoff between the government and those wanting to protect the Western Port Woodlands from further sand mining. It could also oversee the emerging blue carbon projects and the restoration of coastal wetlands in Western Port.
Add to this mix the fact that people are choosing to work from home, and as Infrastructure Victoria says, “this has created opportunities to live in locations which were considered ‘too far away’ for daily trips to and from the office.” If this trend continues, this region will come under increasing pressure to accommodate those seeking a sea change, thus making it imperative that a strategic business plan is devised as soon as possible.
If our politicians and others now have a mind to ‘join the dots’ and implement a plan, they should look to the Traditional Owners for guidance, for they understand the holistic approach to caring for Country.
To me, concentrating on one part of this region and separating the four councils bordering Western Port demonstrates a lack of understanding of the environmental, agricultural, tourism, and the social and economic links these areas share.
Yet in the “Introduction” to the DAL document, it addresses the wider regional issues I speak of. For in part it states: “A sustainable approach to planning and managing peri-urban and regional areas recognises, conserves and enhances their unique attributes — their landscape character, biodiversity and environment and Aboriginal cultural and historic heritage — and ensures that development responds appropriately to them. At the same time, the things that make peri-urban and regional areas prosperous must be recognised, protected and enhanced: productive rural land and natural resources, local businesses, sustainable tourism, and transport and essential services infrastructure.”
It may not be too difficult to declare the other councils in this region (Cardinia, Casey and Mornington Peninsula) as distinctive areas. “Under sections 46AO and 46AP of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, the Minister can declare an area a distinctive area and landscape if it has particular, distinctive attributes and is under threat of significant or irreversible land use changes that would affect its environmental, social or economic value.”
If the Minister takes up this option, the DAL project could become part of the framework for a strategic management plan as outlined in my article Hello Spring Street, are you listening?
In that article, I reasoned that a management plan would need to be founded on a business plan. The current DAL document picks up on this approach and under “Our vision”, identifies key priorities that could become common goals for the Western Port region.
Running parallel with the DAL document are two proposals being considered by the State Government that have a bearing on this discussion:
Planning for Melbourne’s Green Wedges and Agricultural Land states: “The Victorian Government is committed to protecting Melbourne’s green wedges and keeping farms on our urban fringes working and producing for generations to come. Some of Victoria’s most productive agricultural land is within 100 km of central Melbourne. As our climate changes, the ideal conditions of agricultural land become even more important to Victoria’s food production.”
Based on the theme of “Our Region Our Environment Our Future”, the draft Port Phillip & Western Port Regional Catchment Strategy is a comprehensive document and “broadly describes how land, water and biodiversity is managed across the region, highlights the connections between them, and identifies targets for the future health and resilience of the region’s environment.”
So in a move to resolve the issues that have plagued Western Port and its environs for the last 50 years or so, surely the time has come to treat Western Port and the region as one entity, and starting with the documents mentioned, put in place a Western Port Strategic Management Plan protected by legislation and administered by one statutory authority.
If done, it may, for example, open up opportunities to solve the standoff between the government and those wanting to protect the Western Port Woodlands from further sand mining. It could also oversee the emerging blue carbon projects and the restoration of coastal wetlands in Western Port.
Add to this mix the fact that people are choosing to work from home, and as Infrastructure Victoria says, “this has created opportunities to live in locations which were considered ‘too far away’ for daily trips to and from the office.” If this trend continues, this region will come under increasing pressure to accommodate those seeking a sea change, thus making it imperative that a strategic business plan is devised as soon as possible.
If our politicians and others now have a mind to ‘join the dots’ and implement a plan, they should look to the Traditional Owners for guidance, for they understand the holistic approach to caring for Country.
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Through the Bass Coast Post, some have supported the WPSMP concept and now the Western Port Biosphere Reserve Foundation is advocating a similar message. An article by Colette Day, Western Port – the need for a strategic way forward is worth reading and has a link to the Legislative Council’s inquiry into the ecosystem decline in Victoria – tabled, December 2021.