EAST PLANNING SCHEME

21.02 MUNICIPAL PROFILE 19/01/2006 VC37 21.02-1 Location 19/01/2006 VC37 East Gippsland Shire is located in the far eastern corner of , between 280 and 550 kilometres from . It covers 21,051 square kilometres and is the second largest municipality in the State. It is composed of the areas of the former Shires of Orbost, Tambo, and Omeo and the , as well as part of the former . The main towns of the Shire are Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Orbost, Paynesville, Omeo and Mallacoota. Bairnsdale has the largest population and is also the regional retail and service centre. There are approximately 10 smaller towns and a large number of rural settlements or localities generally centred on community and sporting facilities.

21.02-2 Regional context 19/01/2006 VC37 East Gippsland adjoins five other municipalities: Alpine, Towong and Wellington Shires in Victoria; and Bombala and Bega Valley Shires in New South Wales.

TOWONG SHIRE BOMBALA SHIRE ALPINE SHIRE

BEGA VALLEY SHIRE EAST GIPPSLAND SHIRE

WELLINGTON BAW BAW SHIRE SHIRE

LA TROBE SHIRE BASS COAST SHIRE SOUTH GIPPSLAND SHIRE

REGIONAL CONTEXT

Planning, land use and resource management issues in East Gippsland Shire that have regional, State or national significance include:

Transport corridors

The Princes Highway, a key national transport artery, traverses East Gippsland from west to east. The major north-south route is the Monaro Highway link to Canberra, but the Omeo Highway and the Bonang Road are also important interstate connections. In addition, East Gippsland and Alpine Shires share the Great Alpine Road through the Victorian high country.

MUNICIPAL STRATEGIC STATEMENT - CLAUSE 21.02 PAGE 1 OF 14 EAST GIPPSLAND PLANNING SCHEME

Energy

The Bass Strait oil and gas fields lie off the coast of East Gippsland, although the resources are brought ashore for processing at Longford in the adjoining Wellington Shire. In 1999- 2000, a major trunk pipeline, the Eastern Gas Pipeline, is to be constructed through East Gippsland to link the Victorian natural gas supply system with that of New South Wales. This will provide the opportunity to connect many of the households in East Gippsland – in the Bairnsdale, Paynesville, Lakes Entrance and Orbost districts – to reticulated natural gas. The Kipper oil and gas fields, off Orbost, also have the potential for development within the next 20 years.

Coasts & port facilities

East Gippsland Shire contains the only readily accessible port between Corner Inlet and Eden, at Lakes Entrance. This port is home to a large and commercially significant fishing fleet, which supplies a substantial proportion of the fresh fish for the Melbourne market. There is also a commercial abalone industry based at Mallacoota. Potential exists for expansion of access to off-shore recreational and sports fisheries through both Lakes Entrance and Mallacoota, providing appropriate infrastructure can be maintained or provided.

Timber harvesting/processing

Some timber resources from State Forests in the Tambo Forest Management Area are currently transported out of East Gippsland Shire for processing. Some residual timber from forests in East Gippsland Forest Management Area is also processed in locations outside the Shire, including the New South Wales South Coast. Substantial potential exists for value-adding to timber resources in the Shire.

National Parks & conservation areas.

The Shire contains major National Parks that are contiguous with parks or conservation areas outside its boundaries. These include: the Alpine National Park, which extends into Wellington and Alpine Shi