2018 VICTORIAN STATE ELECTION – CALL TO PARTIES CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE FROM THE CITY OF MELBOURNE NAME : Australian Greens Victoria Question 1 Will you work with the City of Melbourne to secure new public open space in central Melbourne? Projects we seek your views on include: a) the linking of parks along the Flinders St to Southern Cross stations viaduct; b) securing significant new public open space, and establishing a meaningful open space contributions regime, in the Arden precinct ahead of development; c) securing a permanent park on Franklin Street between Swanston and Victoria Streets as a legacy of the Metro Rail project; and d) vesting the triangular site on the Victoria and Exhibition Streets with Council. Yes. The Victorian Greens firmly support new open public space, including all of the four projects mentioned. Open public space is vital for our communities; it keeps us healthy, prepares our urban environment for climate change, and cools our cities. The Victorian Greens also believe that the Arden precinct must be developed with adequate public space. The provision of public space in the current Arden Vision needs to be strengthened and clarified. This should include specific locations for new parks. Question 2 What are your targets and funding commitments for the 2018-22 term for climate adaptation and mitigation in greater Melbourne, including large scale renewable energy investment and stronger Environmentally Sustainable Design requirements in the Victoria Planning Provisions? 1 The Greens have a comprehensive plan to power Victoria by 100% Renewable Energy by 2030, and transition out of toxic polluting coal. Our plan would: Build $9 billion worth of publicly-owned large-scale renewable energy Significantly increase the Victorian Renewable Energy Target, so that 100% of our energy is renewable by 2030. Up to $1 billion to upgrade the transmission network (as needed, identified by AEMO) to unlock a renewables boom across north and west Victoria - to bring part of the grid back into public hands and undo the neglect of corporate owners. Build $500 million worth of publicly-owned storage, centered in the Latrobe Valley. A plan to transition out of all coal in Victoria, with a timeline to remove the license to operate for all of Victoria's dirty coal plants by 2030. A just transition plan for the Latrobe Valley to create new industries and jobs. New pollution standards for coal plants, so they can’t continue to put toxic chemicals like mercury and sulphur into our air and damage our health. Fund 10 Community Energy Hubs, so our communities can create their own clean energy. Further information is available at: https://greens.org.au/vic/renewablevic The Greens will create a new Climate Commissioner for Victoria, to lead a new independent Climate Commission. This will give climate change increased prominence within government and the cross portfolio perspective that is needed to adequately address the enormous challenges for our state. Further information is available at: https://greens.org.au/vic/climatecommissioner We will also instigate a Climate Impacts Inquiry to look at how our environment and infrastructure is responding to, and will respond to, climate change and identify local adaptation needs across the state. The Victorian Greens also want to improve the sustainability of new urban development in greater Melbourne. We are increasingly experiencing the urban heat island effect in our suburbs, because of the lack of clear rules in the planning scheme to help our neighbourhoods adapt to a changing and warmer climate. We will improve environmentally sustainable design in Melbourne by: Mandating that all new residential and commercial development achieve a minimum 8 star NatHers and best practice BESS ratings. All new residential and commercial development must have an urban heat island mitigation statement that includes how the development will increase open space and tree cover. Requiring new apartment buildings to provide 50% of their roof space for either solar panels or a green roof (garden). Requiring minimum garden areas at ground floor level in residential zones. This requirement cannot be removed in these zones. Question 3 Will you assist the urban renewal of Fishermans Bend and inner city environmental management by transferring Committee of Management status for Westgate Park to the City of Melbourne? Yes. Chronic underfunding of Parks Victoria has resulted in the neglect of Westgate Park and an over-reliance on the wonderful volunteers in Friends of Westgate Park. As Fishermans Bend is developed and its tens of thousands of new residents and workers move in, it is essential that high quality open space and strong bidoversity values are embedded throughout the precinct. Transfer of committee of management status to the City of Melbourne will greatly assist in rising to this challenge. We will also commit $50 million per year additional funding for Parks Victoria to make up for the underfunding. Question 4 Will you commit to planning and building new local solutions to the recycling crisis, including the mass diversion of recyclables to waste, and waste to landfill, working with local governments? 2 Yes. The Greens have a plan for Victoria to take real steps towards a circular economy. We believe the Victorian public is looking for change, and industry and local government are looking for strategic vision and real investment. We have proposed a Waste Transition Plan to overhaul Victoria’s waste management systems which will be funded through improved use of the landfill levies collected into the Sustainability Fund. We want to commit $378 million to our plan which invests in the expansion of the local sorting & recycling industry, and boosts demand for locally recycled content through state & local government procurement. The plan seeks to end plastic pollution by introducing a Container Deposit Scheme, phasing out single-use plastics & microbeads, and mandating 70% recycled content in packaging. Our plan also closes the loop on food waste by strengthening kerbside collection & expanding processing infrastructure to produce compost and other recycled products. We have an initiative called Recycle Smarter which creates the Circular Economy Centre and seeks to build a roadmap for Victoria to reach the circular economy. We would also maintain waste-to-energy as a last resort, in particular incineration treatments, which unless it is part of a range of measures, is not the most environmentally suitable way to transform Victoria’s waste management system. Working with councils to transform Victoria’s composting system is critical to our plan and we’ve allocated $170million to support local councils. You can find out more about our Compost not Landfill initiative at our website: https://compostnotlandfill.org/ Question 5 Will you commit to a canopy cover target on all State Government managed land in greater Melbourne to contribute to help create a metropolitan Urban Forest? Yes. We particularly support the work of Resilient Melbourne, Nature Conservancy and metropolitan Councils to work towards setting meaningful targets and funding the delivery of a Metropolitan Urban Forest, just as we support the City of Melbourne’s own target and pursuit of a 40% canopy cover by 2040. The State Government and its agencies, as major land controllers throughout Greater Melbourne, must be a full and willing participant in metropolitan Urban Forest aspirations. We will amend the remit and powers of VicRoads, VicTrack, Melbourne Water and other key land controllers to ensure that vegetation retention and planting is embedded. Question 6 What are your plans to tackle homelessness including with housing-first models where real social and health support is wrapped around stable medium-term housing solutions? We will run a $100m pilot of the Housing First model in Melbourne, to increase funding for front line homelessness services and work towards ending homelessness altogether. The Housing First model is an evidence-based approach to homelessness services, and has been successfully introduced in Canada, the UK and New Zealand. We will pilot the program in inner Melbourne initially, with a view to rolling it out to the outer suburbs and regional Victoria once the program is established. The Greens also have a comprehensive plan to fix the housing crisis by building 40,000 public homes over the next 6 years, and a further 40,000 public, social and affordable dwellings over the following 6 years. Our detailed plans can be found at: https://victoria.greens.org.au/housing Question 7 Where will you fund and build safe bicycle commuter routes of state significance into the central city, and will you complete a bike share policy including the regulation of dockless shared bikes trading on public space, noting that Local Government lacks legal authority to regulate? 3 The Greens have committed to a plan of $250 million over the next term of government to building safer bike infrastructure including a Metropolitan Wide Bike Network. As a priority the Greens will build Bike Route #1 17km separated bike lane from St.Kilda Rd to Sydney Road through the CBD. We will also prioritise the construction of separated bike lanes the length of Flemington Road. Question 8 Will you seek a clear mandate to commence Metro Rail 2 on an identified route, and complete designs, planning and tenders by 2022? Yes. The Melbourne Metro 2 rail project is critical to the liveability of Melbourne. The Greens have committed to immediately start planning for Melbourne Metro 2 with the aim to have project completed in a decade. Read our full plan for Melbourne Metro 2 here: https://victoria.greens.org.au/transforming_transport Question 9 By when will you complete and publish an integrated transport strategy for Victoria as required under the Transport Integration Act 2010? The lack of a long term transport plan for Victorian has resulted in project like the West Gate Tunnel, which will pour thousands of cars into inner Melbourne and profit Transurban.