Thursday, 16 November 2023

 Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for Housing, Minister for Water, Minister for Equality) (12:02): It is always a pleasure to be able to rise to provide an update on the progress being made toward our commitments as they relate to water. Last week I joined my colleagues in the other place the wonderful members for Northcote, Preston, Pascoe Vale, Broadmeadows and Thomastown by the beautiful – and on that day rather noisy – Merri Creek to open the first round of our Green Links grants. This is a $10 million grants fund, and it is a really important component part of our Protecting Waterways so Our Wildlife Can Thriveelection commitment. Working closely with our local communities, this program is about greening up to 200 hectares of land across our catchments in Melbourne and down to Geelong.

In this first year, $6 million of grant funding is available to community groups like our friends groups ‍– Friends of Merri Creek was there last week – traditional owners, local government, water corporations and our catchment management authorities to support their projects. There are two streams of grants ‍– excuse the pun – for local projects of between $20,000 and $200,000 and for catchment-sized projects of between $200,000 and $2 million.

Nick McGowan interjected.

Harriet SHING: So that should please you, Mr McGowan, burbling like a stream as you are on the opposite side of the chamber. In year 1 –

Sheena Watt: On a point of order, President, the minister is making a ministers statement on an issue very important to the people of the Northern Metropolitan Region, and I am having a lot of trouble hearing at this end of the chamber. Could I get you to direct those interrupting to stop it.

The PRESIDENT: I uphold the point of order. I could hear the minister, and I do not think she was being provocative to provoke interjections. Seeing as we did not have the second question, can I get the clock reset. The minister can start again, without any noise.

Harriet SHING: Take 2. What a wonderful opportunity here today to provide a really significant update to the house about the Green Links fund, which is a $10 million fund that should lead to no end of excitement for coalition colleagues on the other side of the chamber. This is a fund which is a key component of our Protecting Waterways so Our Wildlife Can Thrive commitment. We are working alongside communities. It is a program that aims to deliver 200 hectares of land greening across our really important catchments in Melbourne and Geelong. In this first year of funding there will be $6 million in grants funding available to community groups. It was a joy to join my wonderful colleagues in the other place the members for Northcote, Preston, Pascoe Vale, Broadmeadows and Thomastown as well as friends groups, traditional owners, local government, water corporations and our catchment management authorities to make this announcement.

This is about an initial allocation of $6 million to two streams of grants: local projects of between $20,000 and $200,000 and catchment-scale projects of between $200,000 and $2 million. In year 1 the first round of grants will be available to Edgars Creek, Darebin Creek, Gardiners Creek, Jacksons Creek, Koonung Creek, Kororoit Creek, the Maribyrnong River, Cherry Creek, Merri Creek, Moonee Ponds Creek, Steele Creek and Stony Creek, as well as waterways within the Yarra strategic plan, waterways of the west and rivers of the Barwon action plan catchments. Our urban waterways are so important to livability, to biodiversity and to managing the increasing impacts of climate change. I cannot wait to see these projects delivered and applications flow as a priority.