THE STATE opposition escalated its campaign against the Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO) debacle affecting the North East Wonthaggi residential corridor, with leader John Pesutto vowing to scrap it completely if the coalition wins government at the next State election.
That occurred at a well-attended rally held at North View Drive public park on Sunday.
“I am pleased to announce that, in government, we will rip up this overlay,” Mr Pesutto declared, adding he can’t believe it has come to this, with a second rally required to fight for people’s basic rights.
He expressed disgust that a government could allow such a heavy imposition on people’s homes, their chief asset and “castle”.
Acknowledging there is no State election until November 2026, the opposition leader promised to pressure the government to remove the overlay.
“We will get the solution,” he declared, questioning how such catastrophic mistakes were made and slating them to government incompetence.
Shadow Planning Minister James Newbury backed his leader’s commitment, urging people to join with the opposition in applying pressure to the government to ensure a positive outcome.
“They need to know you are upset,” he said, stressing people must demand through their local State Government member that the government fixes the problem.
However, he made it clear the opposition isn’t planning to sit back and let the community fight the battle on its own.
“We will, this week, raise this directly with the premier and government in parliament and we will ask them, are they going to match us,” Mr Newbury said.
Having accused the government of stealing a vast sum from the pockets of affected property owners, leaving them with substantial costs, he went further on the attack, pondering how the overlay documentation could have been signed off on.
“How could any minister agree to put an overlay on homes that are sitting there built, with you guys living in them?”
“I thought to myself, you’d have to be a fool to sign this document because there are four pages of houses affected by this overlay,” Mr Newbury said.
Dr Renee Heath, Upper House Member for Eastern Victoria has a petition going, with people adding their signatures at the rally.
She has been doorknocking in the North Wonthaggi area, with former Liberal Party Leader and key player in the overlay fight Alan Brown recounting the fact Dr Heath had a line of people stretching out the door at the North Store Café, wanting to share their overlay concerns.
Dr Heath stressed she believes the pressure on the government will force it to rip up the retrospective overlays, describing them as “unfair”.
She said on Sunday the online petition was started about 10 days ago and was already approaching 1,000 signatures that morning, with a paper version in circulation too.
Dr Heath stressed that 10,000 electronic signatures would force the government to debate the issue in parliament, noting anyone in Victoria can sign it, and encouraging people to share the petition on Facebook and get friends and family to join the cause.
Earlier, Mr Brown said there appears to be no factual basis to suggestions the affected land is likely to be contaminated,
To illustrate his point, he spoke of the undeveloped estate upon which rally attendees were gathered.
“The company that owns this estate has had a full environmental audit done, the result zero contamination, nothing,” Mr Brown said.
He spoke of a 2016 study commissioned by council during the time when current State local member Jordan Crugnale was mayor.
The report by consultancy GHD advised further investigation of the land.
Mr Brown said he would have asked for proof there may be or likely is contamination.
He mentioned a lack of subsequent investigation, accusing council of kicking the can down the road for the next four years.
“Then the current State Government announced that Wonthaggi was one of six regional centres in the State that was going to get preferred development status; they wanted 5,000 new homes here and they announced it, and they took it out of the control of the council and took over the planning process for these estates,” Mr Brown said.
“What they’ve done is killed it dead,” he stated.
Mr Brown reflected on the first home buyers and retirees who have been hardest hit by the overlay disaster, putting the average decrease in the value of impacted land at between 15 and 20 percent.
He put that into perspective by saying a home that was recently worth $800,000 is potentially only valued at about $650,000 now, noting the depreciation in the value of blocks of land is in the vicinity of $100,000 for a property that may previously have cost $320,000.
Mr Brown declared those who own affected houses and land have done nothing wrong, making their purchases with no knowledge of the unfair situation that has arisen.
“Your rights have been taken away,” he declared, suggesting that it is the domain of despots to take people’s rights away retrospectively.
While those at a previous public gathering implored the State Government to remove the overlays, no action to that effect has occurred, Mr Brown said, adding the EPA has since stated it finds no reason to change the audit requirement in place.
He stressed that with council set to contribute to soil testing costs on affected properties, all Bass Coast Shire ratepayers will be hit financially by the EAO situation.
