Strategic Extractive Resource Areas Pilot Study
DR ELIZABETH GIBSON, General Manager of CMPA reports on the Strategic Extractive Resource Areas Pilot Study (SERA).
Victoria is growing rapidly, with population forecast to exceed 10 million people by 2050. Melbourne is now Australia’s fastest growing city, and the Victorian government has recognised that extractive resources such as sand, rock and gravel are needed to be brought to market to build homes and necessary infrastructure.
The “Helping Victoria Grow – Extractive Resources Strategy” 2018 (www.earthresources.vic.gov.au) sets out a comprehensive plan to help ensure that current and future generations can continue to have access to the materials needed to affordably build homes, hospitals, schools, roads and other infrastructure.
The Strategic Extractive Resource Areas (SERA) pilot project (www.engage.vic.gov.au) is a key initiative of the Extractive Resources Strategy, which intends to secure strategic extractive resources in defined locations.
The SERA pilot project is a partnership between the Victorian Government, Wyndham City Council and South Gippsland Shire Council. Wyndham City Council and South Gippsland Shire Council were selected after an expression of interest was sought and received from Councils that met supply and demand criteria outlined in the Extractive Resources in Victoria: Demand and Supply Study 2015-2050 (www.earthresources.vic.gov.au).
Wyndham
The large Western Grassland Reserve and the location of small settlements and nearby towns have helped to shape the proposed SERA boundary, which avoids these important areas. It encompasses existing quarries, Special Use Zones, and areas where there are potential extractive resources that may be suitable for future quarry development. The following Table 1. depicts the current Wyndham operating quarries which for the most part, are hard rock and the majority of land designated as a SERA was previously identified as in an Extractive Industry Interest Area (EIIA):
There are 6 quarry proposals located within the Western Grasslands Reserve with the SERA Pilot Report indicating they are unlikely to proceed. The report notes that the Western Grassland were formally protected under Victorian and commonwealth Laws in 2010 with proposed quarry applications received by ERR between 2011 and 2013 – after the Victorian Government and Commonwealth Government agreed to protect the Western Grasslands.
Two quarry projects had been granted ERR approval and Planning Permits prior to the introduction of the Western Grasslands Reserve. These quarries were WA43 (Barro) and WA509 (Hanson). These sites were not subject to the Strategic Impact Assessment and were exempted from the Public Acquisition Overlay until such time as the quarry reserves are exhausted. It is on this basis that the two quarry projects WA43 and WA509 while located within the Western Grasslands Reserves, are included in the proposed Strategic Extractive Resource Area configuration.
Table 2. Operating quarries in South Gippsland
*Strategic Extractive Resource Areas Pilot Project Draft Report 2020
The following is an extract from the submission made by CMPA on the Strategic Extractive Resource Areas Pilot Study.
STRATEGIC EXTRACTIVE RESOURCE AREAS (SERA) PILOT PROJECT
The Construction Material Processors Association (CMPA) is dedicated to the representation and service of its Members in the Victorian Earth Resources industry. The CMPA represents a broad spectrum of businesses that extract and process hard rock, gravel, sand, clay, lime, and soil. CMPA members also operate recycling businesses.
CMPA members are typically small to medium sized family and private businesses, local government and utilities. Many are regionally based employers and service local construction, infrastructure and road maintenance needs.
The extractives sector is a key pillar within the construction industry underpinning the growth and economic development of Victoria through supply of the construction materials.
In 2018/19, the sector supplied 63 million tonnes of materials to the market, at a value of approximately $1.1 billion. Small to medium quarries account for approximately half of this production.
The CMPA supports the principle of responsible, balanced legislation that is in Victoria’s and Australia’s best interests.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the SERAs Draft Project Report (Project Report) and accompanying documents.
The CMPA response is as follows:
Advantages for the extractive industry
• Increased policy protection and streamline development approvals with certainty for extractive industry already operating within the proposed pilot study SERAs.
• Future areas within the SERA removes the requirement to justify if extractive industry is an appropriate land use thereby removing tension between industry, state government, local Government, and local residents.
• Greater certainty with more consistent and uniform planning requirements and approaches for extractive resources.
• Placing greater weight on extractive resources and provide protection of existing and future resource sterilisation of extractive industry from competing land uses by discouraging incompatible uses in buffer areas.
• Maintaining existing approvals and rights and not negatively impacting approvals processes currently being sought.
Disadvantages for the extractive industry
• Green or Brown field site quarry applications will be disadvantaged (as is currently occurring, despite SERAs not yet in place) if situated outside a SERA.
• The Pilot Study provides an uneven playing field in terms of new Work Authority applications and potential costs given the removal of third-party appeal rights.
• Existing quarries may have difficulty in expanding their quarries if situated outside a SERA.
• Quarries undertaking a variation or for a new application in the pilot study SERAs will have a skewed market advantage if third party appeal rights are removed within the SERA boundary.
• Quarries in the SERA pilot study will directly benefit from Victorian Government funding the study.
• The pilot study SERAs predominately encompass major industry operators though it is understood that this will not be the case for the next proposed pilot study.
• The time taken to implement SERAs across all current work authorities using the processes undertaken for the Pilot Study would be lengthy and may occur too late for quarries that have the potential to being impacted by encroachment or their diminishing resources and further delays could stifle opportunities to apply for
variations or extensions.
Further questions
• How long will the Pilot Program run?
• If successful, will it be rolled out State wide?
• What will be the cost to Government and to the extractive industry?
• Can a State Resource Overlay (SRO) apply to an individual quarry site outside of the SERA process?
• What are the key performance indicators that determine success?
• If deemed unsuccessful, what are the implications?
• Will buffer areas that encroach into adjoining land be searchable on the GeoVIC website, Section 32 Vendor Statements or Planning Schemes.
• How will incorporating the SRO into a Planning Scheme affect current Planning Permit applications that currently include Third Party appeal rights?
• The SRO appears to remove third party appeal rights where access to a Category 1 road is available. Is that direct access or over what distance?
• How will significant community opposition relating to say, a significant increase in truck movements within a lifestyle property area be considered by Municipal Authorities and VCAT interpreting the SRO ordinance?
Recommendations
• A highly visible policy statement needs to be made by the Victorian Government that supports the current (albeit lengthy, costly and uncertain) opportunities for establishing new quarries or expanding existing quarries outside of the proposed SERAs.
• A highly visible policy statement needs to be made by the Victorian Government supporting the continued extraction of construction materials at existing quarries outside any SERAs.
• SERAs should be rolled out for regional centres and include small to medium quarries that produce close to half the annual production of construction material requirements for Victoria as soon as possible.
Summary
In summary, the proposed draft SERAs are supported providing the disadvantages to all current quarry industry operators and green field applications outside of the pilot study SERAs are negated. As it stands, the introduction of SERAs in Wyndham and South Gippsland only benefits a few large operators. Consideration should be given to SERAs automatically becoming established for all existing quarries and when a work authority application is submitted for a greenfield site.
At the very least, a highly visible policy statement from the Victorian Government that supports and encourages extraction from existing quarries (including the opportunity for variations to work plans) and the establishment of greenfield or brownfield sites outside ofthe pilot study SERAs.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login