Cade Lucas
Conservationists are demanding compensation from the state government over what they claim is the mismanagement of protected grassland reserves on Melbourne’s urban fringe, including Wyndham.
According to an audit conducted by conservation groups, many of the grassland reserves in Melbourne’s growth corridors that were set aside for protection under a deal signed by state and federal governments in 2010, have either been damaged, reduced in-size, mismanaged or left unprotected.
The ‘Peoples Audit’ conducted by the Grassy Plains Network and Merri Creek Management Committee, found that of the 36 designated ‘Conservation Areas’ across Wyndham, Melton, Hume, Whittlesea and Casey, only three were in good condition, seven were fully protected and less than half were still the same size.
The 36 conservation areas were set aside in 2010 under the Melbourne Strategic Assessment as compensation for allowing the rest of the growth corridor grasslands to be cleared for development.
Grassy Plains Network facilitator Dr Adrian Marshall said the results of the audit proved the state government had failed to uphold their end of the deal.
“We want compensation for the grassland that has been destroyed and the areas that have been cut,” he said.
“We want equivalent areas purchased and protected.”
Despite the Melbourne Strategic Assessment being over a decade old, Dr Marshall said many of the 36 conservation areas still hadn’t even been acquired by the state government, while the ones that had had been reduced in size to appease developers or as he put it: were “just being left to rot.”
“They’re not being managed and grasslands need management,” he said.
In the case of one protected grassland area in Truganina, Dr Marshall said the issue went well beyond mismanagement.
“Conservation Area 9 in Truganina was completely obliterated,” he said.
“It was buried under asbestos contaminated fill. Can you imagine how many truckloads it would take to cover 20 MCG’s (in area) in half a metre of contaminated soil?”
The dumping of contaminated soil on Conservation Area 9 is currently the subject of legal action.
A state government spokesperson conceded not all 36 conservation areas had yet been acquired.
“To date we’ve secured 16 of the conservation areas – to protect native grassland habitats and species in Melbourne’s growth corridors,” the spokesperson said before adding that other conservation efforts were under way.”
