Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In the wake of the Victorian state election, I want to reaffirm my support for the principles of protecting the Mornington Peninsula. The election result was very clear. Some of the biggest swings in the state of Victoria occurred in the Mornington Peninsula in the seats of Nepean and Mornington, both of which, it appears, will see a swing of up to about 10 per cent towards the Liberal Party. Firstly, that is a testament to the sitting member for Nepean, Martin Dixon, and to the incoming member for Mornington, David Morris. Secondly, it is a recognition that there is an issue of profound importance which covers both of those seats, and that is the notion of protecting the peninsula.

In particular, that vote harnessed the concern that both of these members raised. Mornington Peninsula residents are seeking guarantees that the peninsula will be protected and preserved, not just for the next decade and for the next generation but for the coming century. In order to do that, they seek two guarantees: firstly, that the principle of 70 per cent rural with a capped 30 per cent urban boundary will remain in place; and, secondly, that this will be done by way of a particular planning policy designated for the peninsula. There should be a specific peninsula planning policy. Nowhere in Victoria has there been such an emphatic vote, far in excess of state-wide swings, on a regional basis. The notion of recycling and cleaning up the water from Gunnamatta outfall was another defining issue. Those two issues—a separate planning policy for the Mornington Peninsula, coupled with an urgent and immediate need to end the dumping of ocean outfall at Gunnamatta—combined to represent the issues which Mornington Peninsula residents voted on.

On the other side of the peninsula we have seen a change in the character of the seat of Hastings, going from a Labor-held seat to a Liberal-held seat. I recognise the work of the outgoing member, Ms Rosy Buchanan, and I am delighted at the endorsement of the incoming member, Mr Neale Burgess. In that seat, though, there is also great concern about an inappropriate proposal for a bitumen plant at Crib Point. I reaffirm my opposition to the use of Crib Point as the base for a bitumen plant. There is an alternative site north of Hastings, which is already an industrial area. But south of Hastings—I agree with the mayor—the Crib Point area should not become a site for new industrial development. (Time expired)