By JESSE GRAHAM
IT was an evening of high emotions and raised voices at the Yarra Ranges Community Cabinet last night.
Premier Denis Napthine and his ministers assembled at Upwey’s Burrinja Cultural Centre at 5.30pm on Monday 14 April for the meeting, which saw the centre’s room quickly reach capacity.
Representatives of numerous local groups and Yarra Ranges councillors were all in attendance – though, of the 26 questions asked throughout the evening, there was an overwhelming focus on three issues: TAFE funding in the outer east, the future of the Leadbeater’s Possum and Tecoma McDonald’s.
Many residents asked questions concerning the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) and its overturning of council’s refusal of the Tecoma McDonald’s building permit, with Planning Minister Matthew Guy and Attorney-General Robert Clark defending the tribunal’s decision.
Mr Clark said that VCAT was only working within the confines of the law at the time, and said that planning schemes should be altered to avoid potential repeats of the Tecoma McDonald’s situation.
In response to a questioner from the public asking for planning issues to be determined by the council, without VCAT’s intervention, Mr Guy said not having means of appeal could cut both ways.
“If you removed the appeal mechanism, you could find it comes back to backfire, if the council makes a decision that is completely inappropriate,” he said.
Dr Napthine said that the government’s approval of Planning Scheme Amendment C126, which discourages drive-through restaurants in parts of the Dandenong Ranges, was a sign of the government backing the council.
Throughout the evening, numerous questioners took the microphone to question and criticise the government’s release of the Leadbeater’s Possum Advisory Group (LPAG) report and its recommendations.
The 13 recommendations were handed down earlier in the day by Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith and Minister for Agriculture and Food Security Peter Walsh, with $11 million to back them starting 1 July.
Mr Smith and Mr Walsh defended the government’s response to the report, and said the initiatives announced were “a big step forward” in protecting the endangered Leadbeater’s Possum.
Questions regarding cuts to TAFE funding in recent years were deflected by Ferntree Gully MP Nick Wakeling, who said that funding had increased to the TAFE sector from $542 million to $600 million since the Coalition Government entered Parliament.
However, ministers found it hard to answer some questions, as passionate locals and campaigners yelled over the top of some of their answers, frustrating many others in the crowd.
Before the evening was out, many in the crowd had taken to yelling aggressively back when a particular audience member was shouting over the top of ministers’ responses.
The situation of Warburton’s Natural Gas project was brought up by former Yarra Ranges mayor Tim Heenan, and Dr Napthine said the government was re-tendering the process after a lack of interest in the initial tender.
Healesville resident Robyn Johnson asked the ministers about the potential of re-aligning regional boundaries, which currently see the Yarra Ranges set in the Melbourne Metropolitan area.
Dr Napthine said that the government was working with the council to see how to classify or reclassify the area, so that residents can make use of initiatives such as the regional growth fund.
The evening finished with Cr Noel Cliff asking what progress was being made with the BMO, citing frustration as a councillor in many situations where permits could not be given to landowners.
“There are patches where people are stuffed,” he said.
Dr Napthine and Mr Guy both responded, and said that commonsense should be applied to the BMO, and that some resolution to the current situation is expected to be seen in May.
Outside the doors of Burrinja, anti-logging groups and campaigners against Swinburne Lilydale’s campus closure held signs and stated their case to passers-by and ministers.
For more information on the Community Cabinet evening, and a full run-down of local issues raised throughout the evening, see next week’s Mail.
