Cultural precinct delay
Meeting with the Minister: Bass Coast Shire Council CEO Alan Bawden, community and economic development director Steven Piasente, Minister for Agriculture and Food Security and the Minister for Water, Peter Walsh, mayor Cr Veronica Dowman and Bass MP Ken Smith.
THERE has been no development on the Bass Coast Cultural Precinct, with funding to come from the State Government in place of rate payments for the Victorian Desalination Plant Project.
Minister for Agriculture and Food Security and the Minister for Water, Peter Walsh, made a ‘social’ visit to the region last Thursday and met with Bass Coast mayor Cr Veronica Dowman and CEO Alan Bawden.
Mr Walsh said the council raised the issue of the development of the education precinct and turning the school site into a cultural and arts precinct.
Mr Walsh is involved in the cultural precinct because of his role in the desal project as Minister for Water, and said it was going to be a slow process.
“It’s got to be a step by step process, until the education precinct is done, and until the school is relocated, not much can happen,” he said.
“So it is a longer term project.”
Bass MLA Ken Smith invited the minister to the electorate to bring him up to date with recent events and
issues.
Mr Smith said the minister also discussed the effects of desal in the Bass Coast.
“We went to Bass Coast Shire Council where the mayor, CEO, community and economic development director (Steven Piasente) and I talked with the minister on a range of issues, including the desal and possible effects of the future of the desal and the number of workers who will move out of the area and possibly a small downturn in economy, but plans are in place for it to be minimal,” he said.
The minister said the issue of coal seam gas was not raised by the council representatives.
Mr Walsh also met with a number of groups and organisations throughout the day, including discussions regarding recent flooding and the desal plant pipeline at an asparagus farm in Koo Wee Rup, a meeting with Westernport Water to discuss the extension of the dam wall at Candowie Reservoir, and meetings with local fishermen and the Bass Coast Landcare Network.
Mr Walsh said his visit combined his different roles.
“It’s a mixture of a Minister for Water and Minister for Agriculture; it’s something I do regularly as part of a commitment to get around to all the water authorities and meet with them to understand their businesses,” he said.
“It was a good chance to catch up with Westernport Water and just get a feel for the issues with the different groups we’re meeting with.”
Mr Walsh said he was looking forward to meeting with the Landcare network to discuss weed and pest
control.
“I’ve had quite a lot of correspondence with the Landcare groups down here over the past 12 months,” he said.
“The Department of Primary Industries has got a major program on better enforcement of weed and pest animal management which is an issue right across the state.
“Generally people do the right thing, but there’s usually someone in an area who doesn’t control their weeds, or doesn’t control their rabbits and we want DPI to take stronger action against those sorts of people, which we have been doing and it’s given very positive feedback.”
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