Minister Peter Walsh, right, says the net result for farmers across Yarra Ranges needs to be protection for their crops. He was accompanied by Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe and Yarra Ranges Mayor Graham Warren as he looked over Reischieck Orchards in Gruyere.
By Kath Gannaway
YARRA Ranges Council’s policy on protective hail netting has come under fire from the State Government with the Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh branding the council’s approach as “stupid”.
The council has hit back saying it is open to applications from farmers for protective hail netting but is handicapped by the State Government’s Green Wedge planning scheme – and it has had no response from the Planning Minister for requests for support to review the relevant policies.
The debate has flaired following hail storms on Christmas Day which left Coldstream strawberry growers facing losses of between 50 and 100 per cent of their crops.
Coldstream strawberry grower and president of the Yarra Valley Strawberry Growers Association Sam Violi lost his entire crop when the hail hit.
At least eight other strawberry growers in Coldstream were also hit badly, along with orchardists in Gruyere where the hail punched holes in the protective netting and ruined fruit that was not under nets.
Touring affected properties on Thursday with Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe, Seymour MP Cindy McLeish and Yarra Ranges Mayor Graham Warren, Mr Walsh said it was upsetting to see the loss of tonnes of premium fruit.
“What makes it more disappointing is that the damage could have been minimised except for stupid Yarra Ranges Council policies restricting use of protective hail nets,” Mr Walsh said referring to historic guidelines which set 60 per cent of net coverage as a benchmark for hail netting across the shire’s agricultural areas.
The council’s director of planning Andrew Paxton told the Mail on Monday, however, that Yarra Ranges had never refused a permit for hail or shade structures but said that under State Government planning controls permanent structures require a planning permit.
“That doesn’t mean that they can’t apply for 80 per cent coverage,” Mr Paxton said.
Mr Violi wants to introduce a tunnel system which would protect strawberries, but said the council is trying to class the Spanish design 3.7 metre high tunnels as permanent structures – requiring a permit.
“We would be restricted to 60 per cent of our crops and in our view they can be taken from one paddock to another very quickly and should be classed as temporary,” he said.Mr Paxton said the council had never received an application for the tunnel system but added that the difference between permanent and temporary could be ‘subtle’.
“If it is temporary then they probably wouldn’t need a permit,” he said.
Mr Violi said growers need a definition before they invest in infrastructure, and that rests with Yarra Ranges Council.
“Discussions and workshops with council officers over the past year to 18 months have been unable to ascertain whether the tunnels are permanent or temporary,” Mr Violi said. “The investment is substantial and we need to know what that ruling is before we invest in the infrastructure.”
Mr Paxton and Cr Warren said Yarra Ranges Council’s Green Wedge Management Plan identified agriculture as a priority industry.
“Farming needs change very quickly and planning schemes are cumbersome.
“We need to speed up that process but we also need to make sure what is done, is done right,” Cr Warren said.
“It’s not a matter of if … it’s a matter of when.” Mr Walsh on Monday told the Mail the 60 per cent rule was a council rule.
“The fact that you need a planning permit may rest with the overall Green Wedge planning rules, and if it is an issue of Green Wedge rules that the state has (control over) I will make sure I will work with the council to ensure it is changed to give them the capacity to resolve the issues,” Mr Walsh said.
“But, the convoluted process that you have to go through to get the permit rests with Yarra Ranges Council,” he added.
