Government over the limit in Wonthaggi planning fiasco. says Heath MP

RENEE Heath, the Member for Eastern Victoria, has called on the state government to urgently overturn the Wonthaggi North-East planning fiasco.

Following the weekend public meeting attended by over 200 residents, Ms Heath has called on the Allan Government to overturn the retrospective planning amendment which is affecting thousands of blocks of land, and many hundreds of residents in Wonthaggi North.

Speaking in parliament during the week she likened the siutation to chnaging the speed limit on a road and sending out retrospective speeding tickets to anyone who exceeded the new limit in the past five years.

“This week I had the opportunity to raise this important issue on multiple occasions with the government,” Ms Heath said this week.

“I will continue to advocate on behalf of the estimated 1000 residents in over 500 homes that have been affected by this retrospective decision that will affect their ability to build or extend their homes, or build any other structure on their own properties,” she said.

“The decision by the Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny, to approve planning amendment C152, and the subsequent actions by the Victorian Planning Authority to place a retrospective environmental assessment overlay across 1100 acres and up to 5000 blocks of land in the Wonthaggi north-east precinct, has created fear and confusion for thousands of residents and landowners.

“Many of these residents and landowners were not even notified of this decision and now discover that they will require an expensive environmental assessment to build a home or add a structure on their own property,” Ms Heath said.

“It is entirely within Minister Kilkenny’s powers to reverse this decision and she should immediately do so and remove this unnecessary stress and burden from the affected residents.”

The Wonthaggi North-East Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) was approved by the Minister for Planning and gazetted on January 18, 2024 under Amendment C152 and will affect nearly 1100 acres, an estimated 1000 plus residents in over 500 homes, and up to 5000 blocks of land, including the estates of Parklands, Powlett Ridge, Summerfields and earlier stages of the Northern Views.

Ms Heath is also sponsoring a petition to Parliament calling for this decision to be overturned. Once the petition is approved by Parliament it will be available to sign online, or in person at Renee Heath’s office or during any of the public events Ms Heath will be holding next Thursday, May 23 in Wonthaggi.

Renee Heath MLC in parliament

• Renee Heath, Member for Eastern Victoria Region (Adjournment), May 14, 2024. My adjournment is for the Minister for Planning and the action that I seek is for the Minister to immediately overturn the retrospective environmental audit overlay that has been applied in North Wonthaggi, that has left hundreds of residents in severe stress and with uncertainty. Hundreds of property owners in North Wonthaggi have been placed under distress because this new Environmental Audit Overlay, which could cost each of them up to $80,000 to satisfy, has been implemented and five years retrospectively. That is like this Government changing the speed limit and saying that whoever has exceeded that new limit in the past five years will have to cop a fine.
• It is absolutely unbelievable, and the community is hurting because of it. This EAO which was approved by the Minister in January this year, was not even communicated to the members and the people that owned these properties. In fact, they found out via social media or the local newspaper, and this has been a scandal of monumental proportions.
• So, this overlay was put in place after it was discovered that parts of the area have a history of farming and grazing on that land. Well, I would be amazed if there were any recent developments and any recent subdivisions that didn’t have a history of farming on that land. So, these residents have been singled out and they are being punished. On Saturday, Wayne Farnham and I joined hundreds of locals in the park as we gathered to get answers on this issue. I spoke to one beautiful lady in her early thirties who had forgone a lot of life’s luxuries to get into the property market. She’s scrimped and saved, and her and her partner live in a home that they bought there and then they took the plunge to buy a block of land to build on as an investment. Now, their home that they live in has been drastically devalued, and they are not allowed to build on that investment block of land. She’s been left a nervous wreck, in her words, and she says she is anxious all the time.
• Another woman escaped family violence and has worked really hard to have a fresh start and now says that she is under enormous stress. Another couple said that they bought their house two weeks before this overlay was secretly applied, retrospectively, and now they are left with an incredible amount of stress and they have a lot of regret.
• So, this is an issue that I ask the Minister to give immediate attention to so these people can go back to living their lives normally.

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• Renee Heath, Member For Eastern Victoria Region Copy Of Notice Of Motion, May 15, 2024: I give notice that, on the next day of meeting, I will move ‘That this House notes’ —
• (1) on 18 January 2024, the Minister for Planning signed a five-year retrospective Environmental Audit Overlay as part of the Wonthaggi Northeast Precinct Structure Plan, affecting over 500 houses and 5,000 blocks of land in Wonthaggi North, including the estates of Parklands, Powlett Ridge, Summerfields and Northern Views;
• (2) the Wonthaggi Northeast Precinct Structure Plan was approved and gazetted under Amendment C152 and will affect nearly 1,100 acres, an estimated 1,000 residents in over 500 properties and up to 5,000 blocks of land;
• (3) landowners will now be required to undertake an environmental assessment before they can build a new home or add structures to their blocks and, at a minimum, this will involve a preliminary risk screen assessment which can cost more than $15,000;
• (4) if an environmental audit is required it is reported to cost as much as $80,000;
• (5) hundreds, if not thousands, of property owners in Wonthaggi North have been unfairly and unreasonably placed under severe stress and adversely impacted by the State Government’s decision to blight their properties with the introduction of the new and retrospective Environment Audit Overlay; and
• (6) it is within the Minister’s powers to reverse this decision and the Minister should immediately do so.

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• Renee Heath, Member For Eastern Victoria Region Copy Of Constituency Question, May 15, 2024: My question is to the Minister for Housing: My constituent is one of hundreds of Northeast Wonthaggi landowners who are affected by the retrospectively issued Environmental Audit Overlay. She is in the final stages of building after years of delay. A few weeks ago, everything slowed down to a grind due to the Minister for Planning’s approval of amendment C152 and the subsequent actions by the Victorian Planning Authority, including their sudden announcement regarding soil contamination within the area, which many landowners were not notified of. My constituent is now told that even if the build is completed and she finds someone willing to move the remaining alleged contaminated soil, an occupancy certificate is not guaranteed. How can the minister explain such a massive blunder affecting nearly 1,100 acres that is costing landowners so much money, including current owners whose property values will be devalued?