Thursday, 14 November 2024

 Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (12:53): (1264) My question is for the Minister for Planning. Minister, why was the strategic extractive resource area draft for Lang Lang released during the council caretaker period, which prevented councils from acting, and why is the deadline for submissions so short when the Department of Transport and Planning has been planning this for three years? The 18 November deadline does not allow time for councils to lodge considered submissions given new councils have not yet completed their onboarding. Last night I was informed that Cardinia council previously raised concerns about applying the overlay to certain affected areas due to its rural conservation zones, zone status and close proximity to Western Port Bay and Ramsar wetlands but these concerns were ignored. Will you extend the deadline for submissions for a further month or two to allow council input, or are you just going to ignore them again?