Contents
Introduction
Regions by WRRG's and councils
SV contacts for regions (December 2014)
Acronyms
Regional features
Key facts
Demography
Political context
Regional context
Regional priorities
Economic profile15
Industry profile
Key Points
Funded sustainability project examples
SWOT analysis
Further reading19
Sustainability Victoria
Level 28, Urban Workshop
50 Lonsdale Street Melbourne 3000
T 1300 363 744
E
sustainability.vic.gov.au
© Sustainability Victoria 2014
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Disclaimer
Information in this document is current as at February 2014. While all professional care has been taken in preparing this document, Sustainability Victoria accepts no liability for loss or damages incurred as a result of reliance placed upon its content.
Introduction
This document provides a snapshot of the Gippsland region. It is not an exhaustive compilation of regional information, but instead focuses on information that is considered relevant to SV’s priority outcomes in integrated waste management and resource efficiency.
It has been produced by SV’s Strategic Coordinator based in the region. Information has been drawn from plans and strategies, including regional strategic plans andgrowth plans, and other documents, as well as discussions with key regional personnel.
This document aims to assist SV staff to understand regional conditions so that SV and our stakeholders (e.g. Waste and Resource and Recovery Groups) can
•Work more effectively across the portfolio
•Design and develop relevant programs and projects
•Prepare their business plans.
Regions by WRRG and councils
Region
/WRRG and Executive Officer
/LGA/councils
Barwon South West / Barwon South West WRRGEO Sandra McClelland / Colac Otway Shire Council
Greater Geelong City Council
Queenscliff Borough Council
Surf Coast Shire Council
Corangamite Shire Council
Glenelg Shire Council
Moyne Shire Council
Southern Grampians Shire Council
Warrnambool City Council
Gippsland / Gippsland RWMG
EO Mathew Peake / Bass Coast Shire Council
Baw Baw Shire Council
East Gippsland Shire Council
Latrobe City Council
South Gippsland Shire Council
Wellington Shire Council
Grampians / Grampians Central West WRRG
EO Philip Clingin / Hindmarsh Shire Council
West Wimmera Shire Council
Ararat Rural City Council
Horsham Rural City Council
Northern Grampians Shire Council
Yarriambiack Shire Council
Ballarat City Council
Central Goldfields Shire Council
Golden Plains Shire Council
Hepburn Shire Council
Moorabool Shire Council
Pyrenees Shire Council
Hume / Goulburn Valley WRRG
EO Nick Nagle / Campaspe Shire Council
Greater Shepparton City Council
Mitchell Shire Council
Moira Shire Council
Murrindindi Shire Council
Strathbogie Shire Council
North East WRRG
EO Brooke Hermans / Alpine Shire Council
Benalla Rural City Council
Indigo Shire Council
Mansfield Shire Council
Towong Shire Council
Wangaratta Rural City Council
Wodonga Rural City Council
(and three Alpine resorts)
Loddon Mallee / Loddon Mallee WRRG
EO Karen Fazzani / Greater Bendigo City Council
Macedon Ranges Shire Council
Mount Alexander Shire Council
Buloke Shire Council
Gannawarra Shire Council
Loddon Shire Council
Swan Hill Rural City Council
Mildura Rural City Council
SV contacts for regions (December 2014)
Division
/Barwon South West
/Gippsland
/Grampians
/Hume
/Loddon-Mallee
Engagement
Statewide Engagement TeamManager : Andrew Straker (03) 8626 8813
Strategic Coordinators / Amy O’Brien
0418 149068 / Luke Wilkinson
0427 850 478 / Trish Kevin
0409 060109 / Martina Rienzner
0408 110 431 / Kristy Roche
0419 311 765
Education Team
Manager : Kate Greer(03) 8626 8878
Claire Ruedin
(03) 86268747 / Simon Hum
(03) 8626 8793 / Candyce Presland
(03) 86268774 / Simon Hum
(03) 86268793 / Candyce Presland
(03) 86268774
Integrated Waste Management
Waste and Resource Recovery StrategyManager : David Cocks (03) 86268765
Barwon South West
Andrew Buzacott
(03) 86566701
Marcus Fogarty
(03) 86268788 / Gippsland / Grampians Central West
Nick Bailey
(03) 86268824
Ben Stephenson
(03) 86268807 / Goulburn Valley
Nicola Thom
(03) 86268726
NorthEastDavid Cocks
(03) 86268765 / Loddon Mallee
David Cocks
(03) 86268765
Nick Bailey
(03) 86268824
Kelly Wickham
(03) 86268820
Resource Efficiency
Business Productivity TeamManager: Katrina Woolfe (03) 86268823
Yolanda Sztarr
(03) 86268843 / Nick Katsanevakis
(03) 86268755 / Andrew Haus
(03) 86268874 / Helen Scott
(03) 86268855 / Kel Dummett
(03) 86268729
Acronyms
ABS / Australian Bureau of StatisticsALP / Australian Labor Party
CBD / Central Business District
CMA / Catchment Management Authority
DSDBI / Department of State Development, Business and Innovation
DEECD / Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
DTPLI / Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure
DEPI / Department of Environment and Primary Industries
EEIG / Energy Efficiency Information Grant
EPA / Environmental Protection Agency
HACC / Home and community care
IWM / Integrated waste management
kV / Kilovolts (equivalent to 1000 volts)
LGA / Local government area
LP / Liberal Party of Australia
LPO / Litter Prevention Officer
MAC / Ministerial Advisory Committee on Waste and Resource Recovery Governance Reform, 2013
NP / National Party of Australia
RDA / Regional Development Australia
RDV / Regional Development Victoria
ResourceSmartAuSSI Vic / ResourceSmart Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative Victoria
RMF / Regional Management Forum
RWMG / Regional Waste Management Group (now Waste and Resource Recovery group)
SME / Small to medium sized enterprise
SV / Sustainability Victoria
SV2015 / SV’s Strategic Plan 2012–15
TAFE / Technical and Further Education
VECCI / Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry
WRRG / Waste and Resource Recovery Group
Strategic Regional Coordinators / Luke Wilkinson
DEPI office, Traralgon
T 1300 363 744
M 0427 850 478 / Martina Reinzner
DEPI office, Seymour
T 5735 4330
M 0408 110 431 / Kristy Roche
DEPI office,
Epsom
T 5430 4544
M 0419 311 765 / Trish Kevin
DEPI office,
Ballarat
T 5336 6856
M 0409 060 109 / Amy O’Brien
DEPI office,
Colac
T 5233 5549
M 0418 149 068 / Kim Johnson
Ray Liversidge
SV office Melbourne
T 1300 363 744
Region / Gippsland / Hume / Loddon Mallee / Grampians / Barwon South West
Population / 260,766 / 309,986 / 278,395 / 224,636 / 373,191
Regional Profiles – Gippsland |1
Regional features
Features
/Details
Subregion / Gippsland WRRG / Bass Coast Shire CouncilBaw Baw Shire Council
East Gippsland Shire Council
Latrobe City Council
South Gippsland Shire Council
Wellington Shire Council
Regional centres
Wonthaggi, Leongatha, Warragul, Morwell, Traralgon, Bairnsdale, Sale
Geographical features / Latrobe Valley, Gippsland Lakes and Ninety Mile Beach, Wilsons Promontory, Great Dividing Range
Transport / Princess Highway and rail corridor through the Latrobe Valley to the NSW border. Bass and South Gippsland Highways.
These routes provide access to national and international freight hubs at the Port of Melbourne and Melbourne Airport.
Major roads and travel times / From / To / Route / Distance (km) / Travel time (hours)
Melbourne / Traralgon / Princess Highway / 163 / 1:50
Melbourne / Mallacoota / Princess Highway / 513 / 5:55
Melbourne / Bairnsdale / Princess Highway / 281 / 3:12
Wonthaggi / Traralgon / 111 / 1:24
Key infrastructure / •Latrobe Valley’s electricity generation and network
•Longford gas plant
•Federation University campus in central Gippsland
•Macalister Irrigation District
•Wonthaggi Desalination Plant
Key facts
Natural Assets
•The Latrobe Valley provides over 80% of Victoria’s electricity, with large reserves of brown coal and over 90% of Victoria’s natural gas.
•Nearly half of Australia’s oil comes from the Bass Strait fields.
•The 4.6 million Ha of Gippsland’s land mass is made up of 73% forest and 27% other uses, predominately rural and urban use.
•The region is home to one of Australia’s strongest dairy industries due to rich soil and dependable rainfall.
•The region supplies 60% of Melbourne’s water. The Wonthaggi Desalination Plant was completed in December 2012 and the region includes the Macalister Irrigation District, which provides water security for farmers in irrigated diary and horticulture sectors.
•Public Native Forestry harvestable in the region occupies 9% of the region’s land mass, and makes up to 45% of wood production. Plantation Forestry occupies 2% of the region and delivers 54%of regions wood production. Wellington LGA has 52% of the region’s plantations, Latrobe LGA has 26% and Baw Baw South Gippsland and East Gippsland have fewer than 10% each.
Industry
•Associated dairy food processing has a significant presence with clusters associated with West and South Gippsland.
•The Eastern half of the region is home to several Australian food brands (e.g. Patties Foods and Vegco) and Victoria’s largest fishing port is at Lakes Entrance, where offshore and inshore fishing vessels are protected by a safe harbour.
•There is extensive energy generation and distribution infrastructure in the region’s central corridor, primarily supplying electricity and gas to Melbourne and beyond. There are gas and electricity links from the region to Tasmania and NSW.
•A large proportion of Gippsland is not supplied with domestic reticulated natural gas, and the electricity distribution network has minimal additional capacity available for both lower voltage and high voltage industry.
•A new ExxonMobil Gas Conditioning Plan began construction in December 2013. The facility is expected to be operational in 2016at Longford which will be the biggest on the eastern sea board.
Demography
Population: 269,790 (approx.)
•Gippsland has one of the highest dispersed populations with over 100,000 residents (40% of the regional population) located in towns of less than 1000 people.
•Gippsland males have the lowest life expectancy when compared with any other region in Victoria; 53% of the population are overweight or obese and 49% are smokers.
Population growth is projected to increase to 306,600 by 2026. Between 2010 and 2022, the population of Bass Coast is expected to grow by 32.5% and the population of Baw Baw by 29.5%. Plan Melbourne’s strategy to 2050 identified Wonthaggi and Drouin/Warragul as new population and employment towns for growth as a strategy for managing growth in Melbourne’s peri-urban regions.
Political context
The previous federal and current state government had a cooperative arrangement in place to support the transition of the Latrobe Valley economy to a low carbon future. The status of this is yet to be determined.
LevelRepresentativeFederal
Darren Chester NPMember for Gippsland
Russell Broadbent LPMember for McMillan
State-Victorian Legislative Assembly
Gary Blackwood LIB(Narracan)
Ken Smith LIB(Bass)
Peter Ryan NP(Gippsland South)
Russell NortheNP(Morwell)
Tim Bull NP (Gippsland East)
State-Victorian Legislative Council Eastern Victoria
Peter HallNP
Phillip DavisLP
Edward O’DonohueLP
Johan SchefferALP
Matt VineyALP
Regional context
•Gippsland was due to deliver its Regional Growth Plan in late 2013, incorporating the Integrated Land Use Plan. This plan is underpinned by four guiding principles with key objectives as follows:
- Principle 1: Strengthen economic resilience by growing a more diverse economy which is supported by new investment, innovation, and value-adding in traditional strengths.
- Principle 2: Promote a healthy environment by valuing Gippsland’s environmental and heritage assets, and by minimising the region’s exposure to natural hazards and risks.
- Principle 3: Develop sustainable communities through a settlement framework comprising major urban centres which ensure residents have convenient access to jobs, services, infrastructure, and community facilities.
- Principle 4: Deliver timely and accessible infrastructure to meet regional needs for transport, utilities and community facilities.
•The Latrobe Valley Industry and Employment Roadmap is an RDV plan due to be completed in 2014 supported by RDA to transition the three Latrobe Valley councils (Baw Baw, Latrobe City and Wellington) to a low carbon economy. The Roadmap was supported by a $20 million Latrobe Valley Infrastructure Fund to help grow jobs in other sectors and diversify the economy.
•The CarbonNet Project investigates the potential for carbon capture and storage in the Gippsland region as part of several possible solutions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change.
•The new Coastal Settlements of the Future program will focus initially on Lakes Entrance and Port Welshpool; helping these communities mitigate risk, protect vital infrastructure, and adapt to climate change.
•RDV funded ClimateWorks Australia to develop the Low Carbon Growth Plan for Gippsland in 2011. The plan identifies activities to save businesses and households $100 million per year across the region through improved energy efficiency, increased land productivity and cleaner distributed energy.
•Fuelled for Growth: Investing in Victoria’s biofuels and bioenergy industries (2012) stated that Gippsland has potential biomass resources mostly related to forestry and livestock. This has stimulated international interest in future investment and development.
Regional priorities
The Gippsland Regional Strategic Plan in 2010identified ten key focus areas:
•Gippsland Low Carbon Economy Transition Plan:
•Post-secondary education
•Gippsland’s gateways: build the region’s exports
•Centre for Sustainable Industries: develop a local presence with Monash (now Federation) University to carry out research and development on technology and practices that support sustainable resource use of brown coal and water to strengthen the resilience of the regional economy
•Gippsland Lakes Sustainable Development Framework
•Health and wellbeing outcomes
•Gippsland Integrated Land Use Plan: direction and priorities to address population growth across the region including changes to land use and infrastructure development
•Gippsland’s water
•Broadband connectivity
•Tourism infrastructure.
Gippsland is now taking a new approach with four strategy groups established to support the 2010 Gippsland Regional Plan, with members from RMF, RDA, the Committee for Gippsland and the Gippsland Local Government Network. The groups focus on the following themes that incorporate the ten priorities:
•economic development
•health and wellbeing
•environment and natural resources management
•low carbon transition.
These strategic groups are collating priority projects and proposals to approach government and industry for support, as multi-themed projects can attract greater regional support. It resulted in Gippsland’s peak advocacy group, One Gippsland, identifying four priorities for the region in June 2013 that it took to Canberra for Federal support. This included;
•The full duplication of the Princes Highway between Traralgon and Sale;
•Funding to complete phase one of the Macalister Irrigation District (MID) modernisation program,
•The Latrobe Regional Hospital stage 2a redevelopment;
•East Sale as the preferred destination for Defence project 5428;
•Construction of the East West Link and North East Link road projects
Economic profile
Gippsland has a working population of close to 100,000 which is concentrated around the Latrobe Valley and Southern Gippsland areas. The unemployment rate was 5% (Sept 2012), compared with 5.2% across Victoria. Gippsland’s regional economy generates an estimated $26.9 billion (gross revenue generated by businesses/organisations). Total employment in the Gippsland region is 89,386 jobs.
Industry profile
LGA
/Characteristics
/Jobs
/Gross revenue
(estimated)
Pop
/Municipal
centre
/Industries
/Number
/% of region
/$ billion
/%of region
BassCoast / 29,614 / Wonthaggi
(Pop 6,528) / Tourism
Agriculture / 11,303 / 12.65% / $3,522 / 13.07%
Baw Baw / 42,864 / Warragul
(Pop 11,491) / Agriculture Manufacturing / 14,127 / 15.80% / $3,546 / 13.16%
East
Gippsland / 42,196 / Bairnsdale
(Pop 11,271) / Tourism
Forestry
Agriculture / 14,147 / 15.83% / $3,389 / 12.58%
Latrobe / 73,564 / Morwell
(Pop 13,942) / Future energy
Sector
Service and
manufacturing / 25,620 / 28.66% / $8,670 / 32.18%
South
Gippsland / 27,208 / Leongatha
(Pop 4,505) / Tourism
Agriculture / 9,997 / 11.18% / $2,747 / 10.19%
Wellington / 41,440 / Sale
(Pop 13,337) / Oil and gas
extraction
Timber
Agriculture
Tourism / 14,192 / 15.88% / $5,051 / 18.74%
Total / 256,886 / 89,386 / 100% / $26,945 / 100%
The top five employment sectors
1. Health and community services (11,926)
2. Retail trade (10,902)
3. Construction (8,136)
4. Education (8,035)
5. Manufacturing(7,823)
The top five industry sectors
1. Manufacturing
2. Construction
3. Mining
4. Property services
5. Utility services
Key Points
•Food related activity in the Gippsland region generates more than $2 billion in exports, more than 14,000 jobs and is responsible for more than $1.3 billion in expenditure on goods and services within the region. The Gippsland Food Plan was to be delivered in 2013 to direct the future development/positioning of the Gippsland food system as a state and national food bowl.
•The 2013/14 State budget allocated $14million to the Macalister Irrigation Districts modernisation project. This is home to significant diary and horticulture assets
•The 2013/14 state budget allocated $110million over 4 years to further investigate the development and expansion of the Hastings Port as a major container port.
•The central western part of Gippsland is strongly linked to the mining and utilities industries.
•The largest proportion of land mass in Victoria granted to coal seam gas exploration is located in Gippsland. The State Government currently has a moratorium on extraction.
•East Gippsland has attracted investment around agriculture, timber production, horticulture, manufacturing, tourism, retail and service, commercial fishing and other marine industries. The region is home to several Australian food brands and Victoria’s largest fishing port at Lakes Entrance.
•Gippsland has a thriving dairy industry with more than 2,500 licensed dairy farms. The main production areas are in the west and south of the region, including 11 processing plants and two research institutes at Maffra and Ellinbank. Dairy dominates Gippsland exports with $762 million. The Gippsland dairy industry is bigger than NSW, South Australia and Tasmania combined. There is a number of dairy processing plants with in increasing focus on export markets, operate in the Gippsland. These include Murray Goulburn Co-operative, Burra Foods, United Dairy Power, Parmalat and National Foods. VIPLUS has recently invested in reopening diary processing at Toora.
Funded sustainability project examples
Recent SV projects / •Energy efficiency for schools- 18 schools successful in the Region•SRSB Energy and Materials- 4 Capital Grant recipients in Round 1 and 2
•Landfill Liners – Latrobe, East Gippsland, South Gippsland, Bass Coast, Wellington
•Roadside Litter Grants-South Gippsland and Bass Coast
•Regional organics (Mallacoota)
•Public Place Recycling (South Gippsland, Baw Baw, Bass Coast)
Current SV projects / •Gippsland WRRG projects including Organics Strategy, and Data Collection
•ResourceSmartAuSSI Vic (Gippsland Consortia)
Third party sustainability projects / •Energy efficiency assessments at 190 dairy farms in Gippsland (EEIG)
•Upgrading of street lighting for Bass Coast, South Gippsland, East Gippsland, Wellingtonand Baw Baw Councils
•Pilot targeting HACC clients in retrofit, education and ongoing support for energy efficiency (South East Councils Climate Change Alliance).
•Exploring sustainable agriculture approaches, including use of recycled organics to improve productivity (West Gippsland CMA)
•Two LPOs funded across Bass Coast/South Gippsland and Wellington/East Gippsland until
•2012–13
•Delivering state-wide energy efficiency information to Victorian SMEs (VECCI funded by EEIG)
•Developing a Renewable Energy Demonstration Trailer and providing real life demonstration of energy efficiency and renewables at regional events (GippsTAFE)
SWOT analysis
Strengths•Proximity and access to Melbourne
•Established transport infrastructure (road and rail, energy)
•Diverse economic drivers
•Number of regional networks and bodies already exist (waste, economic, tourism, agriculture, local government)
•Abundance of natural resource assets
•Employment and training opportunities
•Significant organic waste processing infrastructure
•Energy generation and distribution infrastructure / Opportunities
•Reducing costs and increasing inward investment through the Low Carbon Growth Plan for Gippsland
•Identifying additional regional projects and starting discussions between stakeholders for the Gippsland Regional Growth Plan (GRP)
•Looking for support and funding from other levels of government for GRP projects, for example, developing the Gippsland logistics precinct and upgrading priority tourism roads
•Strong interest from government and industry in using cost effective moisture removal technologies from brown coal and exporting this internationally
•Potentially large local markets for recovered and processed organic waste in land use
•Significant external commercial interest in food processing and biomass
•Improving the function, capacity and amenity of the region’s commercial centres
Weaknesses
•Uncertainty as to what the focus of state and federal governments relating to Latrobe Valley transition to low carbon economy will be.
•Significant areas socio-economic disadvantage limits participation in the local economy.
•Perception that the region only reliance is on fossil fuel sector limits acknowledging the diversity of the regional economy / Threats
•Ageing population and net migration of young people
•Large geography and dispersed population
•Impacts of climate change and associated policies on key industries (farming, forestry and mining). Buildings and infrastructure may be at risk from flooding and storm surges along the coast and from bushfires inland
•Energy sector facing significant challenges due to global shift to a low carbon economy
•Transition to low carbon economy stagnates due to policy uncertainty
1 |Regional Profiles – Further reading