Level 3, 60 Leicester St Carlton Victoria 3053 Phone 03 9347 5188 Fax 03 9347 5199 [email protected] www.vnpa.org.au ABN 34 217 717 593 VNPA Submission to the Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan 12 February 2016 Figure 1: Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan area marked by red line. Source: DELWP website 2 Executive Summary Part 1 Introducing the Moolap Planning Area The closure of Alcoa’s Point Henry aluminium smelter and rolling mill in 2014, the uncertainty over the long-term future of the former Cheetham Saltworks, and the ongoing debate about the needs of a growing Geelong, have provided a rare opportunity to carefully consider the future of a significant marine and coastal area on the western shoreline of Port Phillip Bay. This submission refers to the marine waters and coastal land covered by the Moolap Coastal Strategy Framework Plan as the Moolap Planning Area. This area of approximately 1,200 hectares contains significant wetlands, intertidal sand and mud flats, coastal saltmarsh and seagrass meadows, and industrial, urban and agricultural land uses. The size of the Moolap Planning Area lends itself to long-term strategic planning and will assist the government, landholders and the community in dealing with the planning challenges associated with its diversity of natural and cultural features and land use. Part 2 Natural values of the Moolap Planning Area The Moolap salt fields and Ramsar wetlands along Port Phillip Bay and the Bellarine Peninsula are home to tens of thousands of birds each summer, providing a vital habitat for species that have migrated there from as far as Siberia and the Arctic. Every year the journey of the migratory birds becomes more difficult as wetlands that provide them with breeding, roosting and feeding grounds are drained and developed. As a result, over the past century these birds have become dependent on the altered landscape of the Moolap salt fields. Australia has signed a number of international treaties designed to protect these birds and their habitats, while in Australia many are listed for protection under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Protection Act, and several more under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act. Foxes, feral cats, hunting, fishing, rubbish dumping and a lack of vegetation cover threaten these birds and other animals. One of the largest areas of seagrass in Port Phillip Bay adjoins the shoreline of the Moolap Planning Area, while a significant remnant of Port Phillip Bay’s severely diminished area of Coastal Saltmarsh grows on the former Cheetham Saltworks site. Much of the remaining vegetation communities in the Moolap Planning Area are found within the Point Henry Foreshore Reserve and scattered across the Moolap salt fields. As well as depletion and fragmentation, the vegetation is threatened by weeds, the planting of non-indigenous plants, invasion by slashed exotic grasses and overflows from water quality treatment lagoons. The Moolap salt fields are a central hub and an integral link for migratory birds between the northern and southern sections of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site. The Moolap and Avalon saltworks should now be nominated for inclusion in the Ramsar site. VNPA submission to the Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan 3 Marine and coastal ecosystems, including the Coastal Saltmarsh and seagrass meadows in the Moolap Planning Area, provide a number of ecosystem services to the community: provisioning; regulatory; habitat and cultural services. These include fish nurseries by the seagrass meadows, and shoreline protection and blue carbon storage by both; they should be assessed and factored into coastal planning decision-making processes. The conservation and restoration of coastal habitats is not just good for the plants and animals living there, it is critical to the health of our economy and lifestyle. To better protect marine and coastal habitats, planners should give greater weight to them in the cost-benefit analyses for coastal development. Part 3 Cultural values of the Moolap Planning Area The Wathaurung people used the Moolap Planning Area for many thousands of years to harvest fish, birds, shellfish and other resources but only one artefact scatter of composite tools has been found thus far, on Point Henry’s western shoreline. The Cheetham Saltworks operated from 1894 until its closure in 2009. During that time an extensive system of shallow lagoons was created for evaporative salt production. According to the Victorian Heritage Register Database report for the Cheetham Saltworks, it is of state significance for among other things, its associations with the early and highly important salt industry in Victoria. It was also a significant local employer in the Geelong region. Part 4 Planning support for protecting the values of the Moolap Planning Area This part of the submission reviews the zones, overlays, plans and strategies that apply to the Moolap Planning Area. It reveals that much of the work has already been done in mapping out the area’s future, especially in relation to the Moolap salt fields, foreshore reserve, rural land in the southeastern corner, and the impacts of land use in the catchments of Stingaree and Corio bays. The review makes it clear that planning authorities highly value the natural and cultural heritage values of the Moolap Planning Area outlined in parts 2 and 3 of this submission, and for many years they have worked to protect those values. To initiate develop in the Moolap Planning Area that removed and degraded its environmental and cultural values, and also removed the break between the urban and rural area, would turn all of these planning strategies on their head. Part 5 Threats to the Moolap Planning Area There are various threats to the natural and cultural values of the Moolap Planning Area before the impacts of the proposed Nelson Cove development are considered. These threats include vegetation loss and fragmentation, weed invasion, feral animals, hunting, fishing, feral animals, climate change, stormwater discharge, groundwater seepage, uncontrolled vehicular access and absent management of water levels in the salt fields. Canal estates, like the Nelson Cove proposal by the Ridley Corporation, have many environmental, social and economic impacts associated with their construction and use; interstate, and for a time in Victoria, they were banned in coastal planning. Victoria must again ban them. The Ridley Corporation’s referral documents for its earlier plans acknowledged that the Nelson Cove development would have the following impacts: VNPA submission to the Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan 4 Clearing of Coastal Saltmarsh (90% to 95%, or about 27.96 to 31.64 habitat hectares of the mapped EVC9 Coastal Saltmarsh would be removed) Impacts to the habitats for existing birdlife and other species Potential impacts to water quality in the site’s waterways and in the adjacent parts of Corio Bay The potential impacts arising from climate change impacts on sea level and storm surges in Corio Bay, and stormwater runoff (from within and outside the Moolap site). Put simply, it would destroy the wetlands of Point Henry and replace them with a canal estate for a privileged few. Population growth and urbanisation are becoming major issues in the City of Greater Geelong. The Geelong regional growth plan developed by the G21 Geelong Region Alliance, maps the growth areas, including in places such as Armstrong Creek, and where breaks between rural and urban landscapes are planned, with one between Leopold and Moolap. The challenge for the G21 alliance in planning for growth is to take the opportunity to drive protection and recovery of the coast and hinterland’s natural values. This will require using the planning system to curb the excesses of developers and to encourage a rebirth of the coast’s natural values. Part 6 The future for the Moolap Planning Area VNPA’s vision for the Moolap Planning Area is: An internationally important conservation and ecotourism location on Geelong’s doorstep that protects migratory birds, improves the health of Corio Bay, reconnects people with nature and supports ecologically sustainable use of the Moolap Planning Area’s marine waters and coastal land. VNPA believes the Moolap salt fields, the Point Henry Foreshore Reserve and other wetlands and salt fields on Point Henry should be protected in a coastal park under the National Parks Act, managed by Parks Victoria and with a specific set of gazetted regulations for management. The new park would: Conserve and rejuvenate the area’s natural and cultural heritage to ensure it continues to provide an important refuge and roosting site for local and international bird species Improve public pedestrian access and recreational and educational experiences through boardwalks, trails, lookouts, bird hides, an information and research centre, innovative interpretive and educational signage and activities, as well as the provision of BBQ, picnic areas and shelters. This would strengthen the connection between people and nature; healthy parks mean healthy people. The land along Portarlington Road, where recently the buildings from the Cheetham Saltworks were removed, could provide space for car parking and an interpretive centre Reopen the coastal area at Point Henry to Geelong residents and visitors Satisfy Australia’s obligations under international treaties designed to protect migratory birds. The Ridley Corporation’s Nelson Cove proposal should