BLOCK THE BILL, STOP THE GREEN WEDGE LAND GRAB

In a last ditch attempt to stop the land-holder rip-off legislation and planning provisions for unprecedented Green Wedge destruction due before Parliament today, Tuesday and tomorrow, Wednesday this week: 

 

Speakers will include: Matthew Guy - Opposition Planning Spokesman; Greg Barber - Greens planning spokesman; Michael Hocking - Taxed Out; Julianne Bell – PPL; Mary Drost - PB and Rosemary West - GWC. 

Taxed Out is organising this Rally and has invited the other groups to take part and to speak. 

 

The Green Wedges Coalition is furious that after all the submissions and all the criticism of the cancer-like wave of destruction the Government plans to unleash on Melbourne’s green wedges, the draft Planning Scheme Amendment VC55 reveals that the Government now plans to take 43,500 ha of green wedge land for urban sprawl. This exceeds the 41,000 ha of green wedge land take proposed in the June draft plans

 

We support Taxed Out concern that the Government has tried to mislead land-holders by shifting the liability for the Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution (GAIC) onto purchasers. As the GAIC liability is still attached to the sale of the land, it will inevitably impact on the thousands of landholders, including many farmers and conservation landholders. Any levy should be at the point of development approval.

 

Planning Scheme Amendment VC55 PSA VC55 is a Pandora’s Box of horrors including: 

·         reservations for the Outer metropolitan Ring Road & E6 freeway routes & railway lines

·         the Beveridge Rail terminal

·         six new Central Activity Districts (Box Hill, Ringwood etc.) and

·         Locating more intense housing development in and around activity centres, along tram routes and the orbital bus routes on the Principal Public Transport Network, as well as

·         moving the UGB to take 43,500 ha out of the green wedges. This will cause grief and heartbreak to many landholders who will be forced off their land by encroaching development and by skyrocketing rates on land that may not be developed for two or three decades

 

The Green Wedges Coalition supports grassland reserves, but we don’t think the landowners should be forced off their land, but should be able to stay and manage the reserve land for conservation and for compatible farming activities.

 

The Notice of Motion to ratify Planning Scheme Amendment VC55 is due to be debated in the Legislative Assembly at 3.30pm today Tuesday 24/11. The Planning and Environment (Growth Areas Infrastructure Contribution) Amendment Bill is due for debate in the Legislative Council at 2pm tomorrow, 25/11.