Guest Speaker – Marcus Gordinho

Members welcomed the opportunity to listen to Marcus Gordinho outline Environment Victoria’s plans to contact their 100 affiliate members to seek support in dealing with pressing environmental issues. These include dwindling water resources, climate change, old growth forest protection, waste management, native vegetation protection, channel deepening in Port Phillip Bay and the need to increase membership. Marcus warned that there is a need to restrict the number of issues undertaken so that EVs limited resources are not stretched. EV has good access to politicians and the media.

Farewell

Good wishes and best of luck to Verity Hayler who leaves for Ecuador May 10th to volunteer with the World Wildlife Organisation. Brave girl!

Amendment C8/ Mordialloc Structure Plan / Melbourne 2030

The three State and local Government policies overlap and are inter-related making it difficult for residents to counteract development pressure on their residential amenity. Local government planners argue that they are under pressure to adhere to the State government’s push for higher density development in our middle ring suburbs. KRAMMED’s President. argued forcefully for improvements to Kingston Residential Strategy Amendment C8 before it was presented to Council for approval April 15. Despite assurances given to KRAMMED, applications for permission to build six three storey town houses in Carrum in an Incremental Change Area makes a mockery of the claim that increased density would occur only in areas designated for this. The Panel Hearing into Carrum’s Structure Plan approved a two storey height limit for Carrum.

Peter Scullin Reserve / Attenborough Park

These parks are part of the Mordialloc Structure Plan and are under threat from commercialisation with a kiosk proposed for Attenborough Park and the possibility of the proposed “performance space” on the Scullin Reserve transmogrifying into a sound shell at a later date leading to more frequent assaults on the ear drums for residents from over-amplified “musak” such as that suffered annually from the Wine & Food event. A third bicyle path is sited beside the exsiting three metre wide shared promenade pedestrian/bike path. The proposed third bike path would cut through the foreshore vegetation stabilising the foredune much of hich was established in 1975 to prevent erosion thus destroying years of time, money and fort by Council’s dedicated Natural Resource Area staff. Moreton Bay Fig trees are proposed for Attenborough Park thus ignoring the Landscape Guidelines for the Creek and Foreshore Precincts.Kingston & Beaumaris Bicycle Users are opposed to the third bike path.

The Parks

The atrocious 63 unit development proposed for Chicquita Park will go to a Panel Hearing. This high density development is in an Incremental Change Area. The Master Plan for Drills Land has been tabled and when the plan becomes a full Melbourne Water/Kingston approved project, it will be necessary for Council to budget maintenance expenses. Congratulations to David and Tony for involving Mordialloc Secondary College and Aspendale Gardens School in Science Programs for both Drill’s Land and Mordialloc Creek. Bradshaw Friends visited The Grange where, unfortunately, there has been an illegal fire in the park.

Green Wedge

Legislation to secure the Green Wedge boundaries are to go before Parliament this session. Unfortunately there appears to be evidence of the Brack’s Government weakening before developer pressure. Burdett’s Quarry owner has threatened to mine sand in the Frankston arry unless approval is given for residential development. VCAT has been giving approval r convenience stores and service stations in sections of the green wedge.

Port Phillip Conservation Council

Penny reports that lack of a quorum meant that a meeting was not held but notes that a Bayside Alliance Group has been formed to halt inappropriate development, and will adopt a similar model to KRAMMED. Three new Bayside councillors but no women! Five mature street trees were poisoned in Brighton in front of a new development. Bayside signs warning tree vandals are being moved to different locations on a rotational basis?

Tree Vandal Signs

Mara has written to council requesting that signs be placed on replacement trees and remain until the trees, reach the height of the vandalised trees. There appears to be a need to increase fines for tree vandalism to prevent a recurrence of the poisoning of the Monterey Cypress on Mordialloc Foreshore.

Meetings Attended

MBCL was represented at an EV workshop at the Green Building conference room, Leicester Street, Carlton, April 5. Operational Guidelines for the Native Vegetation Management Framework was the complex matter of the workshop.Also April 5 the same members attended a Sustainable Population Australia meeting where Dr David Collins gave a thought provoking presentation on Sustainable Development from an Environmental Perspective highlighting climate change, rainfall reduction and energy consumption in food production.