Thursday, 8 February 2024

Herne Swamp

Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (17:36): (691) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Environment, and my ask is that he provides an update on whether the Herne Swamp in Melbourne’s northern corridor in my electorate will be restored and protected. This adjournment might sound like deja vu to some in the chamber, because I did ask it a few sitting weeks ago but was asked by the minister I directed it to to redirect it to the Minister for Environment, so here I am directing it to the appropriate minister.

The Herne Swamp forms part of a mosaic of wetlands that make up the Wallan Wallan regional park. The swamp has significant ecological value as a home to many important and endangered native species of Australian flora and fauna. It also plays an important role as a headwater region, providing outflows to the beloved Merri Creek. Proper restoration and integrated management of this area would deliver a multitude of environmental benefits, including a reduction of flood risk, erosion prevention, groundwater protection and local heat control. There would also be social benefits to the community, including space for recreation and education and improved visual amenity, and importantly, it could also provide an opportunity for meaningful reconciliation with the traditional owners of the land, for whom healthy waterways are a key concern.

The Herne Swamp sits within Melbourne’s northern growth corridor, and the development plans estimate the catchment area will be home to 300,000 people. Despite this scale, developments in the area are commencing without adequate planning and consideration of the flood-prone nature of the wetlands, let alone the other ecological and community value available through the swamp’s restoration. There is already urban residential development approved for the northern and western portions of the former wetland. This development will increase flooding risks by reducing the storage volume of remaining wetlands and by increasing stormwater run-offs during storms. This fate has already befallen many former wetlands and flood plains within Melbourne’s urban environment, with acute consequences that continue to be felt by many residents who find themselves living in areas now at risk of flooding.

Development in the Herne Swamp area has not yet commenced, so we have the opportunity now to plan strategically for the future. Minister, once construction commences there will not be any turning back. We will not want to see another region of Victoria inundated by floods due to poorly informed planning and a failure to work with communities. So I ask you to listen to the experts and to passionate community members, including those at the Friends of Merri Creek and the Nature Glenelg Trust. They are calling for restoration and preservation of the wetlands through the implementation of the Wallan Wallan regional park model before it is too late.