Submissions
Submission in response to the Draft Fire Operations Plans - August 2009
The VNPA supports Victoria's Fire Operations Plan's zoning system, across all land tenures, as the basis for determining strategic management burns in Victoria. However, there remain serious concerns with the implementation of that system.
Download submission plus attachments (462kb pdf)
Planning for Nature Conservation in Melbourne's Newest Sustainable Communities - submission, July 2009
VNPA final submission to the Urban Growth Boundary/Protected Areas,
Outer Metropolitan Ring/E6 Transport Corridor, Western Grasslands Reserves and the Biodiversity Impact Assessment Report Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999:
| Chapter 1: Overview and Summary (818kb pdf) | Chapter 3.4: Whittlesea/Hume and Merri CreekCorridor (1.3mb pdf) | |
| Chapter 2: Strategic AssessmentProcess andInstitutional Issues (280kb pdf) | Chapter 3.5: South East Growth Area (291kb pdf) | |
| Chapter 3: Conservation Priorities in Growth Areas - summary (79kb pdf) | Chapter 3.6: E6 Transport Corridor and Revised Grassland Reserve Design (211kb pdf) | |
| Chapter 3.1: Wyndham Growth Area (373kb pdf) | Chapter 4: Recommendations for Ecological Communities and Species (53kb pdf) | |
| Chapter 3.2: Melton-CarolineSpringsGrowth Area (73kb pdf) | References (12kb pdf) | |
| Chapter 3.3: Sunbury Growth Area (849kb pdf) |
VNPA Preliminary Submission to the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission - May 2009
The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission is investigating the causes of the 2009 fires, and the preparation, planning and resourcing of fire management. The Royal Commission will also report on the provision of emergency services and "any other matter the Commission deems appropriate". Most importantly, it will make recommendations on the "use, planning and management" of land.
Download VNPA submission (698kb pdf)
As part of its preliminary submission the VNPA also submitted three attachments:
- Catering for the needs of fauna in fire management: science or just
wishful thinking?
Michael F. Clarke, Department of Zoology, La Trobe University
Download attachment (81kb pdf)
- Submission to the Inquiry into the Impact of Public Land Management Practices on Bushfire in Victoria
Download submission (698kb pdf)
- Critique of the main conclusion in the Victorian Parliamentary Environment andNatural Resources Committee (ENRC) inquiry
Download critique (583kb pdf)
Submission Tidal Turbines proposed at the entrance to Port Phillip Heads - September 2008
The project proposes to establish 45 tidal turbines and 2 km of marine cable over an area of 169 ha. The cable will connect the turbines to the Pt Lonsdale electricity grid. Victorian National Parks Association believes this project is likely to have a significant impact on the immediate and surrounding marine ecosystem.
Download VNPA submission (170kb pdf)
Desalination Plant EES - September 2008
VNPA believes that the Environmental Effects Statement for the desalination plant is being rushed through without sufficient checks and balances needed to assess the true impact. The desalination plant will emit around 1,117,950.00 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually equivalent to putting 284,465.00 cars back onto Melbourne’s roads. The plant will also have a significant impact on the marine environment.
Download VNPA submission (762kb pdf)
Draft Fire Operation Plans 2008-2011 - August 2008
Many proposals in the Department of Sustainability and Environment's draft ‘Fire Operation Plans’, released in August this year, are alarming. The plans include hundreds of kilometres of firebreaks, burns stretching over vast areas, burns in Reference Areas, Wilderness Areas and wet forests classified as unsuitable for fires, and even re-burns of areas scorched in 2003.
Download submission (283kb pdf)
Land and Biodiversity at a Time of Climate Change Green Paper - July 2008
Released for public comment in April 2008 the Victorian Government's Land and Biodiversity at a Time of Climate Change Green Paper is a precursor to the final Land and Biodiversity White Paper, which is expected out in 2009 and should set the agenda for how the State Government manages biodiversity into the future.
Download VNPA submission (510kb pdf) Download Victoria Naturally Alliance submission (550kb pdf) Download environment groups' submisssion (1044kb pdf)
Expansion of Mineral Sandmining in Victoria - April 2008
There are a number of proposals to mine mineral sands in Victoria apart from the Douglas Mine which commenced operations in 2006 (see picture of Douglas mine). Two proposed mines are in the process of assessment by an Environment Effects Statement. We have concerns about impacts on flora and fauna, especially at the Ouyen proposal, and about the use of water resources at the Donald proposal.
Download Ouyen sandmine submission (124kb pdf) Download Donald sandmine submission (269kb pdf)
Anglesea Borefield Submission - March 2008
A proposal to extract groundwater from beneath the Anglesea Heathlands to supplement Geelong's water supply could have detrimental effects on wetter habitats within the heathlands including parts of the Great Otway National Park.
Download submission (160kb pdf)
Draft Victorian Coastal Strategy 2007 - January 2008
The draft Victorian Coastal Strategy sought comment last year. The final VCS will propose a plan to ensure adaptation to climate change, protect significant environmental features, give clear direction for future marine use and identify sustainable development opportunities.
Download submission (143kb pdf)
Construction of strategic firebreaks in Victoria's Central Highlands - December 2007
The impacts of proposed firebreaks are both extensive and complex in nature with many uncertainties. The justification for the proposal is not well supported, especially in the wetter forest types. For these reasons the proposal deserves full environmental assessment including detailed public submissions and an independent panel hearing to consider the entire project.
Download submission (164kb pdf)
Bastion Point (Mallacoota) Environment Effects Statement - July 2007
An Environment Effects Statement has been developed to investigate the impacts associated with the proposed construction of a 130m breakwater and a large parking lot, the removal of 20 metres of significant reef and the impact of ongoing dredging.
Download submission (47kb pdf)
Biodiversity White Paper - June 2007
The submissions period for the first stage of the State Government's Land and Biodiversity White Paper process closed on Friday, June 22. The White Paper will set policy on biodiversity, land health and natural resource management for the next 20 to 50 years and represents our best chance of restoring Victoria's damaged landscapes and rebuilding habitat for threatened wildlife.
Download Victoria Naturally's submission(295kb pdf) Download Marine and Coastal submission (169kb pdf) Download Terrestrial National Parks submission (224kb pdf)
Parliamentary fire inquiry - May 2007
Following the massive fires in 2006-7, the Victorian Parliament set up an inquiry into fires and land management. The VNPA made a submission on the impacts and effectiveness of various forms of fire prevention, including their effects on flora and fauna.
Download submission (698kb pdf)
Submission on the Supplementary Environment Effects Statement for the proposed Channel Deepening Project in Port Phillip Bay - May 2007
The submission period closed for the Supplementary EES. The VNPA strongly opposes the Channel Deepening Project because the Bay’s assets are too precious and the risks too high. The very many risks are cumulative so the chances of something going seriously wrong are great. The multiple possible impacts on a large number of areas and environments, and the unpredictable interactions in the system, make for many uncertainties and a strong possibility that unforeseen (or even foreseen) disasters will occur.
Download VNPA submission to SEES (177 kb pdf)
Submission on the Port of Hastings land use and transport strategy - December 2006
Submission for the Port of Hastings land use strategry closed in December 2006. A large-scale port development such as that proposed in the Port of Hastings Land Use and Transport
Strategy (PoHLUTS) is inappropriate for Western Port Bay. The proposed development will extensively impact the marine and terrestrial environment, both which have high ecological values. Due to circulation patterns in Western Port, a large port development also increases the risk of widespread damage to the entire bay through turbidity, oil and chemical spills, as well as marine pests.
Download VNPA submission to Strategy (91kb pdf)