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Govt farm buy-up under questionThe Member for Eastern Victoria, Philip Davis, has questioned a State Government plan to buy farms in East Gippsland as a means of offsetting native vegetation cleared to make way for Government construction projects in Melbourne. By Kevin Balshaw - 12th February 2010 - Back to News The Member for Eastern Victoria, Philip Davis, has questioned a State Government plan to buy farms in East Gippsland as a means of offsetting native vegetation cleared to make way for Government construction projects in Melbourne.
Mr Davis told Parliament the Department of Sustainability had shown keen interest in buying a particular large farm that was on the market in the Benambra district.
He said he also understood the department was holding a $20 million fund earmarked for the purchase of East Gippsland properties.
Mr Davis called on the Minister for Environment and Climate Change, Gavin Jennings, to suspend land purchases for native vegetation offsets in East Gippsland. He said the purchases should not proceed until the Government had undertaken a review of the purchase program with respect to proposed land management plans and consulted with landowners in any affected areas.
Mr Davis said while offsets for any vegetation loss were required under the state’s native vegetation management policy, the purchase of properties in the far east of the state was questionable.
"It is a strange way to go about creating an offset --- to buy land more than 400 kilometres away in place of what may well have been the construction of a road in Melbourne," he said.
"It is also in a subalpine area where the natural vegetation is substantially different from what would be found anywhere else in the state, particularly the coastal environs of Melbourne around the Port Phillip district.
"More to the point is the question of the proper management of the land, which is a major concern for adjoining landholders, who fear it will be allowed to deteriorate into a breeding ground for weeds and vermin.
"Rehabilitation of the property and its ongoing care will present a huge management task, and in this respect severe shortcomings are evident in the large area of East Gippsland that is already public land."
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: kevin.balshaw@parliament.vic.gov.au
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