Media Releases

Allowing schools in bushfire prone green wedges puts children’s lives at risk

The semi-rural hamlets of Narre Warren North, Narre Warren East and Lysterfield are reeling from a sudden influx of five proposals for places of worship and schools in this tiny corner of the Southern Ranges Green Wedge, and the Western Port Green wedge is experiencing its first threat in Devon Meadows.

For six months or more, the ferocious fires devastating our eastern states have dominated the news. Why then are schools and places of worship still permitted uses in Melbourne’s high risk Green Wedge Zones?

This is especially inexplicable in the Southern Ranges Green Wedge where the whole region is in either a Bushfire Management Overlay (BMO) or a designated bushfire prone area, with large tracts of forest to the north through to the west. Bringing large numbers of people – especially children – into such a heavily timbered area on a regular basis is a recipe for disaster. (Ref: Addendum 1. Bushfire Risk)

How to vote for Green Wedges

MEDIA RELEASE

How to vote for the Green Wedges

The Green Wedges Coalition has recently met with the planning spokespersons for each of the State parliamentary parties, with generally good results. 

All parties support a permanent Urban Growth Boundary to protect the Green Wedges from urban development.  We hope this encourages land-bankers and developers who have bought up Green Wedge land in the hope of windfall gains from rezoning to sell to genuine farmers and conservation landholders.

Green Wedges to be protected and refreshed in latest Metropolitan Planning Strategy

The good news in Minister Wynne’s new Plan Melbourne Refresh is that Melbourne’s Green Wedges are safe, behind the locked-down Urban Growth Boundary that was an election pledge of the Andrews Government.

More good news is that the new plan builds on and provides much-needed detail to former Minister Guy’s original 2014 Plan Melbourne, which also committed to a permanent Urban Growth Boundary.

RALLY TO STOP THE PLANNING DISASTER

Matthew Guy is proposing planning changes that would “urbanise” ​​our precious green wedges by allowing schools, medical centres, service stations, hotels, shops and other suburban facilities to be built anywhere across the countryside.

 

NEW GOVERNMENT LAND GRAB TO BENEFIT DEVELOPERS, UNFETTERED URBAN SPRAWL DESTROYING MELBOURNE'S GREEN WEDGES

In the latest assault on Melbourne’s green wedges, Planning Minister Matthew Guy plans to take another 6000 ha from the green wedges to give Melbourne more urban sprawl and to concrete over more fertile farmland and environmentally significant wetlands, grasslands and woodlands.

AXE FALLS ON GREEN WEDGES: GOVERNMENT SET TO UNLEASH UNPRECEDENTED ENVIRONMENTAL & FARMLAND DESTRUCTION

-          green wedge, public lands and urban planning backlash groups unite in protest

 

In a last ditch attempt to stop this unprecedented Green Wedge destruction, The Green Wedges Coalition has joined Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. and Planning Backlash to hold a:       

                                               PROTEST MEETING

                                      1 PM, TUESDAY 22 JUNE 2010

PROTEST RALLY - Parliament House - 24th Nov, 12:30pm

If we wish to retain the environmental assets of the Green Wedges it is now time to make a stand.

This is our last chance to stop the Green Wedge destruction and landholder rip-off legislation now before Parliament. 

Please join 

Green Wedges Coalition, Taxed Out, Protectors of Public Lands and Planning Backlash

 

in a demonstration on the steps of Parliament House

At 12.30 for 1 pm next Tuesday 24 November.   
 

Speakers will include: 

HOW TO VOTE TO SAVE GREEN WEDGES IN THE STATE OF UNCERTAINTY

At our recent electoral forum on planning policies for Green Wedges, the ALP and Greens Planning Spokespersons Brian Tee and Greg Barber both provided strong commitments to protect Melbourne’s Green Wedges by opposing any further expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary(UGB).  The Planning Minister Matthew Guy has matched that commitment, though he declined our invitation to address our forum (which we combined with the AGM), after initially agreeing to attend. 

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