Wednesday, 7 February 2024

The Briars, Mount Martha

Chris CREWTHER (Mornington) (09:58): A Harry Potter sound and light show will be held in the Briars wildlife sanctuary in Mount Martha. It is a great event, but it is in the wrong location. It will see 3000 people per night through this sanctuary and around 200,000 over a few months. This will impact flora and fauna, including nocturnal and diurnal animals, including koalas, emus, kangaroos, birds, echidnas and many others, plus a set of nesting powerful owls, which are vulnerable and where even the shire-ordered fauna assessment report indicates great concern.

Our petition now has over 21,000 signatures. It has been in media across the nation, and hundreds of locals turned up last week for a community forum organised by Louise Page, Anne Shaw, Peter Rawlings and others. I call upon the Mornington Peninsula shire to consider moving this event to an appropriate location such as the Mornington Rotary forest, which is within the Briars itself, or another location and for the state government to see what they can do to intervene.