SOPHIE BACKS COMMUNITY ON DRAFT LAND STRATEGY
03-June-2011
Sophie Mirabella MP, Federal Member for Indi has applauded the persistence and common sense of Wangaratta’s rural community and encouraged the Wangaratta Agricultural Advisory Committee to continue developing an alternate solution to the Rural City’s Draft Land Strategy.
Mrs Mirabella said that a significant number of residents had raised serious concerns with her about the consultation process and elements of the proposed draft strategy.
“I think it’s fair to say that Wangaratta Council’s consultation process has been sub-optimal, but fortunately the community’s local knowledge and passion was underestimated,” said Mrs Mirabella.
“Our local rural community understands the objectives of Council. Many of them agree that action is needed to ensure the viability of agriculture. They are justifiably unhappy that they were ignored and not asked to contribute to the formulation of the draft plan.
“The proposals in this strategy will have a serious impact on property values, succession planning and retirement plans. If any level of Government is proposing changes as significant as these, it’s critical that the community is included in the formulation of a draft document, not just paid consultants.
“I have met with and been contacted by affected landholders. They have been constructively critical and have made sensible suggestions and we are fortunate that some have banded together to develop a practical solution. I have always placed greater weight on local knowledge than that of consultants/experts who are removed from our communities.
“The consultants engaged by Council in this matter have prepared similar strategies for other Councils in Victoria. It would appear that they have adopted a ‘cut and paste’, ‘one size fits all’ approach.
Mrs Mirabella has also applauded Planning Minister, Matthew Guy for his decisive action.
“I’m pleased that once the Minister was approached, he immediately injected some common sense into this debate,” Mrs Mirabella continued.
“I am sure the Victorian Government will have the final say on this matter and have no reason to believe that our local state members are not acting as effective conduits between the community, the Council and the Minister.
Although this matter is not strictly a Federal Government issue, it affects thousands of local landholders and has a significant impact on our local economy. There was an overwhelming request for assistance and I could not sit back and ignore the problem.
“I look forward to working with the Wangaratta Agricultural Advisory Committee, who will develop a practical, cheap and thoughtful solution,” Mrs Mirabella concluded.