Council drives election agenda
Spreading issues: South Gippsland Shire Councillor Mohya Davies and Eastern Victoria MLC, Peter Hall.
By Brad Lester
PRIORITY projects for South Gippsland Shire Council could become election issues this year.
Six Victorian MPs and McMcMillan MHR Russell Broadbent met with councillors and staff in Leongatha last Wednesday to hear of 10 pressing issues for the region.
Those issues were the South Gippsland Highway realignment at Black Spur near Koonwarra; the heavy vehicle alternate route through Leongatha; Port Anthony (Barry Beach); restoration of the South Gippsland rail line; Wilsons Promontory nature retreat; children’s services in Korumburra and Leongatha; restoration of the Long Jetty at Port Welshpool; planning and growth around Nyora, Loch and Poowong; developing Korumburra; and adequate library funding.
MPs at the meeting were: Eastern Victoria MLCs Johan Scheffer (ALP), Peter Hall (Nationals), Edward O’Donohue (Liberals) and Matt Viney (ALP); Gippsland South MLA Peter Ryan (Nationals); and Mr Broadbent (Liberals). Eastern Region MLC Phillip Davis (Liberals) was unable to attend.
Mayor Cr Jim Fawcett said the information session was a way to “sow the seeds”.
“We are hoping the dual elections of both the State and Federal governments this year will provide us with greater capacity to lobby this year than other years,” he said.
Cr Fawcett conceded the return of a rail service to South Gippsland was a difficult issue given the State Government’s public declaration such a service would not return.
“But the return of rail to Leongatha is going to be freight-driven rather than passenger driven,” he said.
The alternate heavy traffic route was a medium-term solution to Leongatha’s traffic problems, the mayor said.
A bypass of the town in the long run is still preferred, however, the project is low on VicRoads’ priority list.
“It has all the relevant ticks but we just need to move it up in the eyes of the politicians,” Cr Fawcett said.
The western region of the shire, particularly Nyora, continues to grow and developers have expressed interest in further subdivisions around Nyora.
“Council has got to turn its mind to what it wants Nyora to look like in the next 10 to 20 years,” the mayor said.
The State Government must tell council whether it favoured development at Nyora or preferred growth to continue at Cranbourne, Berwick, Pakenham and possibly Drouin, Cr Fawcett said.
Councils are now being forced to contribute 50 per cent more for library services than in the past, including broadband internet provision, despite the government requesting this.
On the Long Jetty, Cr Fawcett said restoration was purely constrained by funds.
The nature retreat project is proposed just north of the national park boundary and required the State Government to rezone land marked Farming to allow the retreat to proceed.
Children’s centres are faced with the need for bigger buildings to meet the Federal Government’s mandate for a compulsory 15 hours of sessions a week.
“In the longer term, we may not have the capacity to run extra sessions,” Cr Fawcett said.
Mr Ryan said the 10 projects outlined are “all feasible and achievable”.
“Of necessity, some are of a longer term aspiration than others. By the same token the virtue of this process is that we now have before us those initiatives upon which we can concentrate,” he said.
Mr Scheffer said he learnt many views about the “present and future needs of South Gippsland”.
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