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A0020093K |
PORT PHILLIP CONSERVATION COUNCIL INC. Telephone +61395891802, Facsimile +6139589680 ggd@netspace.net.au www.vicnet.net.au/~phillip
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President's Report to non-quorate April 2006 meeting of members |
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This is the
first meeting of PPCC Inc. members other than a Committee meeting that
I have chaired as your President. As such, I would like to thank our
past President, Geoffrey Goode, for his distinguished efforts on behalf
of PPCC Inc. since its inception. Geoffrey has
held various committee positions during his time with PPCC Inc. and has
had a significant and positive impact on the direction and policies
that the PPCC Inc. has pursued during its 36 years. It is a
contribution without equal in the PPCC Inc, and we are indeed fortunate
that he continues to be a Committee member, as well as public officer,
webmaster and editor of our Port Phillip
newsletter. New
Member Organization I have great
pleasure in welcoming the Western Region Environment Centre Inc. as a
prospective new member of PPCC Inc. WREC Inc. is based in Werribee, where a large marina proposal is under
consideration, and there are many other coastal matters requiring
attention. PPCC Inc. has already assisted WREC Inc. at the recent Panel
Hearing into the proposed marina, and we look forward to further
collaboration with them as issues arise on the western shoreline. Draft
PPCC Inc. Policy Statement No. 16 Your
Committee has initiated the draft policy, as recently circulated to you
all, entitled Camping and Caravan Use on
Coastal Reserves and Land abutting Port Phillip. The
policy has been developed in response to a foreshadowed DSE policy in
relation to the expansion of camping and caravanning on our
foreshores. Draft
Management Plan for Point Nepean The release
of this plan has been delayed by 4 months, and now will not be
available until after Easter. The release will likely coincide with the
announcement that Point Nepean will be added to the National Heritage
Register. Draft
Boating Coast Action Plan for the Central Coastal Region PPCC Inc. has
made a submission to the Central Coastal Board
by adding comments of endorsement to the excellent submission prepared
by Frank Hart from our Member Organization Frankston Beach Association
Inc. The Mornington Peninsula Shire Council also made a
submission on the Draft Boating Coast Action Plan, and I was concerned
to read some of the comments made by the Council in response to the
Plan. For example: “It (the plan) falls short of being a useful tool
to guide growth of boating facilities in a prioritised
order”, and “Should include an annual program for development
of boating facilities and criteria for private investment in boating
facilities”, and “Point Nepean was considered unsuitable for
boat launching, but the Shire believed when it was opened to the public
there was potential for a jetty to accommodate the tourist ferry”. We understand
that the car ferry operator has expressed interest in accessing Point
Nepean, and that there is some support for this concept. We do of
course challenge this type of ready acceptance by government and
industry of continual expansion of boating facilities at the expense of
the natural environment. In order for our views to be put more
effectively however we need to be able to compete on a “level playing
field” when we challenge such developments at VCAT, Planning Panels, or
court. The time has come that we all need to demand that government
provide equal financing of both sides of the debate so that we can put
our arguments as forcefully as the developers are able to put theirs
with their apparently endless funds. Our present environmental
legislation falls well short of this being possible, having been
enacted in 1978 (Environment
Effects Act 1978). More pressure
needs to be put on state government to strengthen our environmental
law, along with a reminder that it was the environmental vote which put
them into power in 1999. The Act requires major amendments in this
regard, and we call on Member Organizations to support this by lobbying
your local MPs, the Environment Minister and Premier. Current
range of threats to These include:
The Safety Beach/Martha Cove Marina project is
well underway, and warns us of the potential damage that other areas
could suffer if their marina proposals thrive. The In
conclusion I would like
to thank the Member Organizations and others that have generously
donated to the additional costs incurred for the VCAT appeal against
the skatepark
proposal on the Rosebud Foreshore. So far, BRASCA Inc, BCS Inc,
CRAG Inc. and MBCL Inc. and KCEC Inc. and Adrian Cerbasi
have donated. Thank you so much for assisting in the fight to protect
the important precedent that PPCC Inc. established in VCAT only 3 years
ago that skateparks are NOT coast
dependent and therefore should NOT be built on coastal crown land.
Unfortunately it seems we have to have that fight all over again, or
else risk losing many more hectares of our important foreshore reserves
around the Bay. We have many
challenges ahead of us, and as your new President I look forward to
working with you to oppose the arrival of further tonnes
of concrete on our foreshores and the ongoing destruction that these
expansion pressures place on our wonderful coast.
Len Warfe, President |