Thursday, 7 April 2022

Lake Knox

Mr WAKELING (Ferntree Gully) (10:00): Recently I had pleasure in joining the member for Warrandyte, the Shadow Minister for Planning, to announce that the Liberal Party has committed to saving Lake Knox in the City of Knox. This lake, which is located on the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning site in Knoxfield, is proposed to be bulldozed by the Andrews government against the wishes of the Knox community. Over 20 000 people have signed petitions calling for this lake to be saved, yet the government is refusing to listen and has now put a planning application in to destroy this lake. We have committed to saving the lake. We have committed to creating a local community consultation committee with local experts working together to ensure that we can identify solutions to save this lake. More importantly, we are working with the community to ensure that it can be preserved as a sanctuary. On Sunday there was a day of action, and I was very pleased to address the community to confirm our commitment. The message is loud and clear: Knox residents want the Andrews government to follow the lead of the Liberal Party, to commit to saving this lake and to withdraw their application to bulldoze the lake. Once it is gone, it is gone. The Andrews government needs to start listening to the needs of Knox residents.