Budget Estimates Committee hears about Wonthaggi’s planning fiasco

THE State Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny and her colleague the Minister for the Environment Steve Dimopoulos are hearing about their Wonthaggi planning fiasco from all quarters at the moment, including at the important Public Accounts and Estimates Committee sessions in the past week.

But, so far, Ms Kilkenny is showing little sign of owning the problem her department created while failing to consult with or notify upwards of 500 Wonthaggi homeowners and building block owners.

When pressed for a response about the government’s mistake, how it happened and what the Minister was doing about it now, Ms Kilkenny said simply that the EPA was working with the EPA and the Bass Coast Shire Council “in addressing this issue”.

It’s not a response that will fill affected local residents or the building and construction sector with any confidence.

Here’s the short exchange between Gippsland South MLA Danny O’Brien, a member of the powerful PAEC and the Minister during a review of the budget and the various portfolios including planning and housing.

Danny O’BRIEN: Minister, can I go to the new environmental audit overlay for Wonthaggi’s north-east precinct, which I am sure you are aware of, where homeowners are facing up to $80,000 in costs to clear their land of this unprecedented overlay that has been imposed after, in some cases, houses have been built. Minister, did the government fail to properly detect or oversight these developments?

Sonya KILKENNY: Thank you for your question, and I actually genuinely appreciate you asking me about this matter. I have personally written to every resident who has written to me expressing their concerns with the environment audit overlay, and I want to extend to landowners who may be impacted my acknowledgement that this is a difficult situation –

Danny O’BRIEN: Very difficult. Was it a mistake, Minister, that it was not picked up?

Sonya KILKENNY: and that certainly recent media coverage that this is potentially contaminated land can obviously be very upsetting for those residents. No-one wants to purchase their dream block of land to find out that the land could be contaminated.

Danny O’BRIEN: But there are people who have actually built houses already.

Sonya KILKENNY: I am very concerned about reports that some home owners were not aware of these risks when they actually purchased their land, but I want to assure landowners that my focus is on good outcomes for these residents.

Danny O’BRIEN: Well, what would that be? What is the action now?

Sonya KILKENNY: That is the EPA working with the VPA to support Bass Coast council in addressing this issue. I should also add that an environment audit overlay does not create the contamination. It is really the planning tool to manage risks from potential contamination.

Danny O’BRIEN: I would be interested if you could advise what is being done to address it.

The CHAIR: Thank you, Mr O’Brien. Apologies, your time is up. We are going to go to Ms Kathage.

Mr O’Brien’s questions were cut short but it’s clear the State Government has barely budged on taking responsibility for retrospectively applying these highly-restrictive planning overlays to locks of land in the Wonthaggi north-east housing precinct, many of which have homes established on them or are awaiting imminent building projects.