Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to inform the House of grants I recently announced, the Dandenong Ranges environment and bushfire fuel management community grants. In fact, the program will see a massive $2.4 million awarded to local community groups. Back in 2007, under the Howard government, and 2010, I made election commitments of $3 million. Sadly, in 2007 it was not matched by the Labor Party, which came into government. In 2010, we made the same announcement. Again, it was not matched by the Labor government.

The great news is that we now have the money on the ground. This is an idea I have been pursuing for a number of years, but we tweaked it a tiny bit—actually, a fair bit—in 2013. That was as a result of a meeting at the Olinda community hall. Previously, the grants were very much centred around weed control in the Dandenong Ranges. After attending a meeting in Olinda I became a lot more wise. Thanks so much to people like Peter Brennan from the Dandenong Ranges landscape strategy group and community advisory group and Jo Hirst from that group. Approximately 300 people turned up at that meeting. As a candidate I just listened in, that night, to hear what they were talking about. Peter Brennan was talking about the great concern of the bushfire threat in the Dandenong Ranges. It surprised me and many local residents that 60 per cent of bush up in the Dandenong Ranges is on private land, 24 per cent is on crown land and the remainder is on other types of land.

It was then I realised that for this commitment—which I was going to make again in 2013—we could potentially use this funding, which was previously going to be used on private land, also on crown land. The big reason for this is that we have issues, for example, where the CFA want to do a controlled burn but they cannot do it on private land and they may not be able to do it on crown land. At the same time, environmental groups are really trying to engage private stakeholders to get involved, and sometimes residents are reluctant to get involved.

I would like to thank the environment minister, Greg Hunt. When we made this commitment he was the one who signed it off and could see its value. It has become a bit of a pilot project, in the Dandenong Ranges, which hopefully will be rolled out right across the nation. I would like to give a very special thanks to Stephen Thuan from the Port Phillip and Westernport CMA. Stephen and I have had numerous conversations about how best to have the grants rolled out. What we decided to put in place was a panel, and on this panel we would meet the needs of those concerned about the environment and weeds and those concerned about bushfires. Remember, the Dandenong Ranges did suffer the devastation of the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, so it is very important.

It was great to have Sharon Merritt from the CFA involved. Sometimes we find the CFAs do not want to get involved, but this time we got them on the panel and Sharon has been doing a fantastic job. Thanks also to Steve Pascoe, from the Dandenong Ranges Bushfire Landscape Project Emergency Management Victoria. Again, having him on this committee is vitally important. Thanks to Barry McGee of Dandenong Ranges landscape strategy community advisory group for all the work he has done. Thanks also to Gaye Gadsden from Yarra Ranges Council; Bernice Dowling from Parks Victoria; Anne Fitzpatrick from Yarra Ranges Landcare Network, who has been working closely with all of the groups; Michael Basson from the Department of the Environment, Land, Water and Planning; and Marianne Sawyer from the Cardinia Shire Council. This is a fantastic panel, which looks at all the projects and recipients.

It was with great pleasure at Emerald Lake Park that I made the announcements. The groups are: Chandler Hill Parkcare Group, with $2,050 for contract spraying of areas of weed infestation and thank you to Swee Oon for your work; John Hills Landcare Group Incorporated, with $5,000 for weed cap on Avonsleigh Common, and thanks to Karen Alexander—I have known Karen since 2004 and she has done so much for the environment; Southern Ranges Environment Alliance, with $6,640 for the Cockatoo Creek vegetation management project, and thank you, Coral Hunter, for your work. Also, I must make a very special mention of Glenn Brooks-MacMillan from the Southern Ranges Environment Alliance. Glenn has been absolutely fantastic, helping us work with Steve and Peter to get this project up and running.

I thank Friends of Hazel Vale Valley Tecoma; there is $9,990 for their restoration project, and thank you very much to Anne Elizabeth for everything you have done. For Friends of Ferny Creek Incorporated there is $10,000 for increased biodiversity in Ferny Creek, and thanks to Bill Incoll. Bill is one of those people who has dedicated a lot of his life to helping out the hills. He also was involved in the Friends of Sherbrooke Forest Inc. in the rehabilitation of Yanakie Garden. The same with the Monbulk Landcare Group, to increase biodiversity in Moores Road splitter; $10,000 again, and to increase biodiversity in Sassafras Creek; again, another $10,000.

For the Southern Dandenong Landcare Group, the Belgrade Rail Weed Eradication Project; $10,000 to Vicki Boyle. I have known Vicki for many years and, again, she has done amazing work.

For the Southern Ranges Environment Alliance, Gembrook Community Campaign; $10,000 to Merle Mathison. For the Southern Ranges Environment Alliance, Selby Biodiversity Biolink; $10,000 to Navi Valdes and her group.

For the Macclesfield Fire Brigade, fuel reduction and weed removal in Macclesfield; $15,000. Well done to the guys up there, especially Jess Merritt who put the application together.

For Selby Friends Group, Selby NCR Bushland; $15,000 to Jackie Glen and her group.

For Friends of Harbury, Land of the Lyrebird; $16,000 to Elizabeth Fraser.

For Monbulk Landcare Group, rehabilitation of 9 Holden Road; $19,000. Again, that was another project by Bill Incoll.

For Montrose Environmental Group, unified management of bushfire hazard and ecological assets at Bungalook Conservation Reserve, Kilsyth South, $22,400 to Dr Graeme Lorimer and his group. Thank you very much. Montrose is not in my electorate but it is at the base of the hills. I know that the member for Casey, Tony Smith, now the Speaker, is very keen on the project.

For the Sherbrooke Community School, Sherbrooke Community School Pest and Fire Reduction Program; $36,000. Denise Dempsey, your students are doing a fantastic job; they are leading by example.

For Cardinia Shire Council, Wattle Creek Reserve Restoration Project; $39,000. Marianne Sawyer and her group, well done.

For the Johns Hill Landcare Group, WEED CAP Cardinia Creeks, $41,160. Again, Karen Alexander has been heavily involved in that.

This is an interesting one: StopPitt, for the control of sweet pittosporum in the Dandenong Ranges, $41,335. To Jeff Walker, well done and congratulations. You have been so passionate about this.

For Friends of Baluk Willam Nature Conservation Reserve, $46,000. To Andrew Dilley and his team, well done.

For the Friends of Sassafras Creek; $47,270, to Jane Hollands and her crew for the removal of hazardous cypress, which is a fire danger. Also, another $47,677 to Friends of Sassafras Creek for other work in the headwaters.

For Holly Hill Community Fireguard Group, forest rehabilitation and fuel reduction at the headwaters of Dobson's Creek in Ferny Creek; $49,000.

For the Sherbrooke Lyrebird Survey Group, which will be looking at the lyrebirds in the forest there; $49,600 to Alex Maisey.

For the Southern Ranges Environment Alliance, $50,000. Thanks to Jean Blencowe and her group for everything they are doing on the north-west face of the Dandenong Ranges.

For the CFA in Belgrave South; to Ion Worrell, $95,000—that is a lot of money. They are going to make a fire-break 18 kilometres long on private and Crown land. This will reduce the fire risk in Belgrave South by 50 per cent.

The CEO of the Emerald Tourist Railway Board, John Robinson, is doing a fantastic job. They will receive $300,000. This is a major commitment but this is so important because it is a very important stretch of land but also we are now seeing over 350,000 tourists.

New applications will open in early January next year for another $1 million. Local groups, again, will be able to put in and well done to all those who received awards.