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Victoria’s 30-year Infrastructure Strategy October 2016

Bass Coast Shire Council

Bass Coast Shire Council welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to Victoria’s draft 30-year Infrastructure Strategy prepared by Infrastructure Victoria.

Bass Coast Shire Council:

  • Acknowledges the importance of a 30 year infrastructure strategy for Victoria and the efforts by Infrastructure Victoria to consult and engage broadly
  • Highlights the challenge of commenting from the perspective of a rural shire on 134draft recommendations and notes that Council’s submission to All Things Considered remains relevant to the draft 30 year strategy
  • Notes that only 10% of the recommendations are specific to regional and rural local government areas

Bass Coast Shire Council Context

Bass Coast Shire Council Plan 2013-17 vision,“Bass Coast Shire will be recognised as a unique place of environmental significance where our quality of life and sense of community is balanced by sustainable and sensitive development, population and economic growth”.

Bass Coast covers over 860 square kilometres spanning rich farmland, stunning coastline and tranquil hinterland. The main town centres of Wonthaggi, Cowes, Inverloch, San Remo and Grantville provide quality housing, shopping and services. The traditional industries of agriculture and tourism are complemented by growing construction, retail, health, education and emerging technology sectors.

Bass Coast has a current population of 31,623 and is projected to have a population of 45,254 by 2031, making it one of Victoria’s fastest growing regional areas. Bass Coast is a popular holiday destination with the population increasing to over 90,000 during the summer months.

Over 3.7 million people visit Bass Coast annually which equates to $655 million of direct value to the Victorian economy. Conservative projections demonstrate that by 2035 an additional 4300 people per day will visit Bass Coast Shire during peak periods and the tourism spend will increase by $778 million per annum.

Need 1. Address infrastructure demands in areas with high

population growth

1.1.1Development in established area

1.1.2Development in/around employment centres

Council notes that the draft strategy does not identify anarea in the east of Victoria as “established”. Council reiterates, as outlined in our previous submission, that Bass Coast is a growing municipality struggling to respond appropriately to existing population pressures. This will be exacerbated by continuing population growth as predicted in strategies such as Plan Melbourne and the Gippsland Regional Growth Plan which provides for Wonthaggi to “accommodate projected population growth in southern Gippsland and provide a location for higher order services accessible from the wider area…. Infrastructure planning and investment will be required to support future growth”.

Council’s experience as a growing peri urban local government area is not reflected in Need 1. which references the regional cities of Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong and “some regional towns” (Page 48).Council seeks to understand whether “some regional towns” refers to any of the towns located within Bass Coast Shire Council. Council also seeks confirmation from Infrastructure Victoria as to whetherthere is a location within eastern Victoria or Gippsland that is considered an “established area” or a “major employment centre”.

1.3.8 Clyde rail extension

Council supports the need to improve public transport access to and within the Shire.

Need 2. Address infrastructure challenges in areas with low or negative population growth

Council supports the recommendations in Need 2

Need 9. Provide access to high-quality education infrastructure to support lifelong learning

9.1.1School network planning

Bass Coast Shire Council strongly supports the provision of access to high quality education infrastructure to support lifelong learning. Sustained population growth in Bass Coast has created increasing student numbers right across the spectrum, from preschool services, through primary and secondary into post compulsory and adult learning.

Council has taken a lead role in the development of the Bass Coast Education Plan. The Plan is designed to equip the community with the necessary skills and knowledge to compete on a global stage. Council is also advocating strongly for the construction of the Bass Coast Education Precinct - a state-of-the-art lifelong learning facility.

Council clearly sees education and training as a priority and works closely with education providers, industry and academic institutions. Council supports the recommendations in Need 9 and encourages Infrastructure Victoria to plan and deliver new schools where localised demand exceeds supply.

Need 12. Improve access to jobs and services for people in regional and rural areas

Council supports the recommendations in Need 12. Council suggests that Infrastructure Victorian include consideration of the delivery of local infrastructure to assist in employment creation within local communities. Infrastructure investment at the township level can create jobs for locals. Some examples within Bass Coast Shire include the Cowes Revitalisation Project which is a $17.5 million project designed to reinvigorate the township of Cowes through the provision of a cultural and community centre, upgraded Jetty Triangle and a transit centre. This project will benefit the local community as well as the millions of visitors that visit Phillip Island. This project will create local jobs during construction and through a flow on from the increased visitor yield which will follow after completion of the project.

Need 13. Improve the efficiency of freight supply chains

Insight: A new port?

Council acknowledges the Victorian Government’s request to Infrastructure Victoria to provide specific advice on this issue and is actively engaged in that process.

Need 14. Manage threats to water security, particularly in regional and rural areas

14.3.1Major water supply augmentation

Bass Coast Council seeks further engagement on this option with Infrastructure Victoria and highlights the need for demand management as a first step.

Need 15. Manage pressure on landfill and waste recovery facilities

15.1.2Organic waste

15.2.1Landfill Buffers

15.2.2Waste Management Sites

Council supports the three options outlined but requests that Infrastructure Victoria recommends to the Victorian Government that the landfill levy is allocated back to local government to enable a step change to occur in this area.

Bass Coast Council spends over $7 million in the area of waste services per annum. Council has made a commitment to eliminate food organics from its waste stream and to consolidate the number of transfer stations. Better access to the $430 million currently in the Sustainability Fund would enable local government to better manage pressures on landfill and to achieve better environmental and community outcomes.

Council highlights that the six Gippsland local government areas are working with the Gippsland Waste and Resource Recovery Group on a collaborative waste project designed to reduce waste to landfill and the number of landfills within the Gippsland region. For step change to occur further and immediate Victorian Government support is required.

Need 16. Help preserve natural environments and minimise biodiversity loss

16.1.1Parks pricing/funding/expenditure

Council requests that Infrastructure Victoria broaden the recommendations intent which is to reflect the benefits of ecosystem services to the community to include land that is managed or owned government at all levels. Council notes that surveys indicate that four out of five Victorians visit the beach each year; therefore any proposal in relation to parks pricing/funding/expenditure needs to ensure that the benefit is returned to the geographic area that generated the revenue.

Bass Coast Shire Council is currently the land manager of 42 kilometres of Crown Land

Foreshore Reserve. Council is also the manager of over 150 hectares of additional inland bushland reserves which are either Crown Land or Council owned.Council’s ability to take on the management of additional areas of coastal land is limited by resources, including effects of operating in the State Government 2.5% rate capped environment. The current funding model for coastal management sees a large share of the cost for coastal management being funded through rates revenue.

16.3.1Green infrastructure

16.3.2Habitat corridors

16.3.3Environmental water delivery

Supported by Council’s Natural Environment Strategy 2016-2026 as per Council’s submission to All Things Considered.

Need 18. Transition to lower carbon energy supply and use

18.1.2Energy efficiency of existing public buildings

Supported as per Council’s submission to All Things Considered.

Need 19. Improve the resilience of critical infrastructure

19.1.4Coastal protection infrastructure

19.2.3Relocatable community infrastructure

Council notes that 19.1.4 would require further engagement with coastal communitiesto develop a transparent model to establish beneficiaries for the purpose of co-contribution. In relation to 19.2.3 Council supports this approach but highlights the need to manage community expectations that the infrastructure once established can be removed when the time comes. Council’s experience is that the social license to relocate the infrastructure may not exist when the time comes to move it. Community education needs to be a key consideration.