Thursday, 5 March 2020

Dromana quarry

Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (09:43): This morning I rise to acquaint the house with a proposal for an enormous new quarry at Boundary Road, Dromana. An environment effects statement for the proposal is currently underway.

Now, most members will not appreciate the significance of that address, but I am sure when I say that it is on the slopes of Arthurs Seat and adjacent to the Arthurs Seat state park alarm bells will ring—and rightly so. It is proposed that 70 million tonnes of granite be extracted from the site—70 million tonnes. If this quarry is permitted to proceed, not only will there be an enormous impact on the landscape, but there is also a risk of significant impact on threatened species and communities. The Mornington Peninsula Localised Planning Statement, which is Victorian government policy, recognises the Mornington Peninsula as an area:

… critical to the future liveability, sustainability … of the wider metropolitan region.

It specifically states:

The natural systems of the Mornington Peninsula, on both public and privately owned land, will be conserved and managed for their habitat and biodiversity values and to maintain and enhance the experience of natural environment.

A quarry which will extract 70 million tonnes of granite will not maintain and enhance the experience of the natural environment. It will not conserve habitat. It will not conserve biodiversity values. It will threaten the future livability and sustainability of the Mornington Peninsula. It is time for the Andrews government to stop hiding behind process, to stand up for the acknowledged state policy and to shut down this process now.