Yarra Valley orchardist Sue Finger says state and local governments need to work together to sort out planning issues that are strangling farmers.
By Kath Gannaway
“JUST get on with it” was Sue Finger’s response to the latest round of he said/she said debate over who is responsible for the rules around crop netting in Yarra Ranges.
Ms Finger, a Yarra Valley orchardist and chairwoman of the Victorian Farmer’s Federation Horticulture Group, hit back last week after the government wrote to the council.
Victorian Planning Minister Matthew Guy wrote to Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Graham Warren, indicating support for changes to the rules that would “resolve this issue”.
The long-standing problem of how much of their crops farmers can cover in permanent protective netting surfaced in January after a number of Coldstream strawberry growers suffered massive loss from Christmas Day hail storms.
Minister for Agriculture Peter Walsh toured the valley and hit out at “stupid Yarra Ranges Council policies” which he said restricted the use of nets.
The council belted the ball back into the State Government’s court, saying it had never refused a permit and that the real problem was with the State Government’s green wedge legislation.
Mr Guy insists that it is the council’s Horticultural Structures Policy approved through Amendment C81 in 2008 , which, he says, restricts protective netting to no more than 60 per cent of a site, which is the sticking point.
“It is within council’s power as responsible authority, to seek to change this local policy without delay,” he says.
Council director planning manager Andrew Paxton in a response to the minister’s letter stated “ … the policy is in fact a guide and only comes into play once the triggers within the Green Wedge provisions come into play.
“The real concern expressed by the council is within the permit triggers of the green wedge and clause 53 of the planning scheme and whether a permit should be required or not across the state for such structures”.
Evelyn MP Christine Fyffe told the Mail all that is required is for the council to formally request an amendment.
“To make the changes needed, the minister has to change that (original) amendment,” she said.
“My understanding is if the council moved a motion (seeking an amendment), the minister would get it done quickly,” she said.
Cr Warren, however, said the minister could make the changes “with the stroke of a pen” while a formal request for amendment might require community consultation and a lengthy process.
He said a State Government report identified the need to update the planning scheme in relation to hail netting and horticultural structures and the relevant recommendations were supported in principle by the government, but have not been acted upon.
“For us, it’s a long-winded process. We have done a body of work around this issue, and we need to march with the times,” Cr Warren said.
“We are trying to send a message that we are going to support farmers. I will do whatever it takes,” he added.
For Ms Finger and other farmers caught in the nets of state and local levels of government interpretation, it’s just a matter of being allowed to protect their crops without being strangled in red tape.
“As ratepayers and business people, we need to know how long it’s going to be until we see a change in the planning scheme that allows us to do the things, not only netting, but other changes, that benefit our businesses.
“Just sit down in one room, sort it out, and let us know,” she said.
