Western Victoria Region
Mrs McARTHUR (Western Victoria) (12:57): (1657) My constituency question is for the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and I ask the minister about her confidence in the quality and scope of environmental assessments undertaken on behalf of the City of Ballarat to enable a decision to put 225 light poles around Lake Wendouree. Each pole is 5.5 metres tall and requires a refrigerator-sized lump of concrete in the ground to hold it in place. Deep boring is now required for this, and electrical cabling. Genuine damage to tree roots and canopy is expected. Significant light pollution is real. An entomological study was not even conducted for the project, in a place in which the ecosystem balance is critical. This may itself represent a breach of section 60 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, given compliance with its provisions is mandatory. In short, the environmental assessments have been wanting. Given leading scientists, including global environmental icon Sir David Attenborough, are concerned about this, will the minister review the environmental preparation and qualifications for this project before generational damage is done to a Ballarat environmental icon?