Development Victoria working hard to trash good Cairnlea grassland
We’ve been fighting Development Victoria’s proposal to clear grassland in Cairnlea, and we recently presented our position at an 11-day Victorian Land Standing Advisory Committee (VLSAC) planning tribunal hearing. Lincoln Kern, from Practical Ecology, was our expert witness. Numerous other community groups, such as Friends of Iramoo and Friends of Kororoit Creek, as well as Cairnlea locals, also voiced their opposition.
We were shocked by the complete disregard displayed by Development Victoria towards the presence of remnant grassland on their site. They came up with all the usual and discredited arguments. The remnant grassland is too small to be important. Offsets are better. There is nowhere else for the road to go. It’s weedy. You can’t burn it. It’s not part of any urban connectivity.
It’s like they haven’t heard of the FFG Act and the duty of care that they have towards the environment as a government authority. Development Victoria should be renamed Vandalise Victoria. They even asked to have submissions by GPN, Friends of Iramoo and local community advocate Graeme Blore thrown out!
The upcoming decision by the planning panel will have consequences for more than just the Section G Grasslands. The Jonesfield Corner and Reid Street Grasslands are immediately adjacent to the Section G Grasslands, and a developer is just waiting to wreck them. And they are all part of a network of environmental assets across the greater Cairnlea area.
We wait and see the VLSAC outcome.
You can read our submission here.
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