samantha in the press - planning

Yarra Ranges urges minister to untangle hail net law

Yarra Ranges Weekly

by Natalie Kotsios

03 Apr 2012

Net changes for Yarra Ranges growers

Leader Newspapers

by Emily Webb

03 April 2012

samantha in the press - planning

Blast of words in Yarra Ranges hail net stoush
Yarra Ranges Weekly
by Melissa Cunningham
6 Mar 2012

Roping MPs to net minister
Mail Newspapers
by Kath Gannaway
6 Mar 2012

hail netting - are you with us?

report from the roundtable - 28 feb

At this week's council meeting I moved a motion about hail netting and our planning scheme. My motion sought to obtain letters of support from MPs and Agriculture Associations to assist council in its efforts to see planning scheme changes via Minister for Planning, Matthew Guy.

It was a follow on from the unfortunate comments made by Minister Walsh in relation to the Yarra Ranges Planning Scheme (see blog 5 Jan) and hail netting.

The motion:
That council write to all Local MPs and agricultural associations...seeking letters of support to be sent to the Minister for Planning, requesting his government to urgently respond to the issues previously flagged by council and to seek amendments to the planning scheme fo facilitate:
- Horticultural structures
- Value adding of farm produce
- Accomodation in the green wedge (in conjuction with natural systems)
- Festivals and events.

I thought it was important to continue to advocate for changes given the issue is an important one for growers in the Yarra Ranges and particularly while there's current government interest in the planning scheme.

I've been disappointed by the government response which encourages council to undertake a Planning Scheme Amendment process, this is costly and time consuming and given we have already extensively consulted over this issue with the development of our Green Wedge Management Plan, it's an impractical and expensive way forward.

The government's lack of response and support is disappointing given back in 2010 the Coalition (as well as the government of the day) supported key recommendations from the Inquiry into Sustainable Development of Agribusiness in Outer Suburban Melbourne, which deal with removing the requirement to obtain a planning permit to install netting (recommendation 39) and remove restrictions on the proportion of land able to be covered with netting (recommendation 40). The Inquiry showed these are issues much broader than Yarra Ranges and need addressing, it would be a very positive move of government to be proactive and act on these recommendations, they continue to be very important to Yarra Ranges growers.

It was extraordinary to read that Minister for Planning, Matthew Guy, believed council had "again endorsed" our Horticultural Structures Policy in 2008 through Planning Scheme Amendment C81. C81 was a policy neutral amendment, what C81 did was restructure the Local Planning Policy Framework into an easier to follow format, eliminate repetition and rewrite it into plain English. It did not consider the policy content of the scheme, that was not the purpose of the amendment and the Minister should know that.

We need to work together to get a good result for our growers, as a council we are willing to collaborate. We are well aware, as is the government, of what's required, we need to unite to see the changes we need in the Planning Scheme without the expensive and time consuming Planning Scheme Amendment process.

I'm pleased to report councillors supported my motion unanimously, let's hope the local MPs do too.

minister - yarra ranges council stupid?

I have had a long record of supporting hail netting for farmers in Yarra Ranges. The Lyster Ward contains a significant orchard sector covered in hail netting.

In what can only described as bizarre, the Minister for Agriculture, today released a statement slamming Yarra Ranges as having "stupid Yarra Ranges Council policies" because the Minister believes we want to restrict the use of hail netting.

The Minister's release was made after visiting the destroyed crops of Yarra Valley strawberry growers. The full quote, "But what makes it disappointing is that the damage could have been minimized (sic) except for stupid Yarra Ranges Council policies restricting use of protective hail nets."

No Minister, Yarra Ranges Council does not have a policy restricting the use of hail nets, we have a planning scheme that requires a permit to construct hail netting, but it doesn't say you can't have them.

This is Montagues Orchard in Lysterfield (in my ward). Their use of hail netting protects their crops, means they use less water and chemicals, have less contamination, they don't need to use bird/bat scarers and their netting also helps to stop sun damage. A great benefit for the agricultural industry.

The Minister went on to say, "For many growers, hail netting provides the best form of protection against hail, yet council policy limits orchardists in green wedge zones to covering a maximum of only 60 per cent of trees in hail nets, meaning almost half their orchard is left exposed to storms."

No Minister, Yarra Ranges Council does not have a policy limit covering 60% of trees, we do have guidelines that talk about 60% coverage of the site (not trees), however there's nothing to stop any grower for applying for 100% coverage of their orchard. Minister you must remember that site is the total farm and will most likely contain farm residences, farm sheds for equipment, packing sheds, cool rooms, driveways, etc so no farm will need 100% site coverage.

Further quotes from the Minister include, "It is wrong that Yarra Ranges Council thinks it is more important to give people in passing cars an unblemished green vista than to protect farmers. Farmers should have a right to protect their entire orchards and businesses."

No Minister, Yarra Ranges Council does think we should support farmers and they should have a right to protect their crops. Yarra Ranges Council has never refused an application for hail netting. We recognised a more contemporary approach to horticultural structures was needed when we endorsed our Green Wedge Management Plan in July 2010.

As recently as September 2011, we wrote to your government about the need to review the permit requirements associated with horticultural structures (this includes hail netting). We highlighted to your colleague the Minister for Planning that there are opportunities to investigate reducing the need for permits for horticultural structures.

Yes Minister, you could amend the planning scheme (we can't) and make it easier for our farmers, you could also think about letting them sell their value added produce at the farm gate too at the same time, because you wont let them do that either. That would be far more productive for our farmers than slamming the Planning Scheme, something the Yarra Ranges Council administers but can't change without the approval of government - that's you.

And as I said earlier, I have long been a supporter of hail netting, it's benefits are enormous, as far back as November 2008 I wrote about the issue (see blog 2/11/2008).

This is the hail netting (horticultural structure) that council approved back in 2008 in Coldstream at the gateway to the Yarra Valley, we haven't knocked back one application for hail netting yet. With 4 million visitors to Yarra Ranges every year there's plenty of people who drive past this.

In July 2008, council had to consider a hail netting application, you can read more about my support for here.

There's no question about the support for farmers from Yarra Ranges Council, perhaps we could see some positive changes from government too so we can support them even more.

the importance of farming

As councillor for Lyster Ward I have always recognised how important the agricultural sector is to our local economy.

Not only is Yarra Ranges the air and water supply of Melbourne, it is Melbourne’s food bowl as well. With a greater emphasis on ‘food miles’ our proximity to Melbourne makes Yarra Ranges well placed for growth in our agricultural sector.

There is a substantial Orchard Fruit sector in Lyster, you may be familiar with the hail netting over the apple orchards in Lysterfield. Some people think the hail netting is unsightly and should be removed, however I have always been supportive of the right to farm. Hail netting means growers use less chemicals, less water, less bird scaring devices, have less crop damage and greater crop yields.

Recently installed hail netting in the Yarra Valley
.
.
..
The issue of Hail Netting in the Yarra Valley came up at council recently (see blog 25 July) and I had no trouble supporting the application even though there was considerable opposition from neighbours. Our farmers are doing it hard, we must do all we can to support them.

Note: 'food miles' is a measure of how far food travels – from paddock to plate, the less travelled, the more sustainable.













The farming sector makes up a huge part of our local economy. Farmers are doing it tough, they are contending with climate change, fuel prices and drought to name a few. Their role is critical, after all they grow our food. I will always support our farmer's right to farm.

The stats and facts on agriculture:
Currently 45,000 hectares of land is used in Yarra Ranges for agricultural practices with an output value of $528 million per annum. The largest land use is for Pastures - Beef/Dairy/Horses/Sheep (80%), followed by Horticulture (19.6%) and Poultry (0.4%).

Horticulture, our highest value agricultural sector is made up of:
Winegrapes (including wine): 46% of land
Nurseries and cut flowers: 24% of land
Orchard fruit: 26% of land
Berries: 5% of land

The shire is currently developing a Green Wedge Management Plan to detail how our Green Wedge areas should be managed.

Green Wedge areas are rural areas which have been identified for permanent protection from urban development so that they can accommodate activities which are needed in rural areas close to Melbourne. Those activities include traditional rural uses such as farming, recreation, national parks, forests and nature reserves, but also other activities which prefer a rural location such as golf courses, tourist facilities, and rural dwellings.

The sorts of things that will be included in the Green Wedge Management Plan are proactive management to prevent infestation by weeds and pests, improvement to land management, enhancement local biodiversity, providing better facilities for horse-riding, cycling and walking. Although there are already many programs and planning controls in place, Council believes that these can be better coordinated, that there are still gaps in what is done, and that green wedge management will benefit from a strategic, overall approach.

As part of the development of the plan an issues paper has been prepared and we’re seeking your comments. Anyone can contribute, if you’d like to know more visit the Shire Website.

Report from the roundtable – 22 July

This is a regular entry I write after each council meeting, this time round I’m going to focus on two items from the meeting, construction of hail netting & public liability insurance costs of our Public Hall Committees.

Hail Nets in Green Wedge
At this week’s meeting council had to consider an application to construct Hail Netting. Hail netting looks a bit like shade cloth and is built on structures to completely cover crops. The location of this application was just near the intersection of the Melba and Maroondah Highways in Coldstream and is a key entry point to the Yarra Valley.

In this particular case the hail netting was black in colour. The land is zoned Green Wedge 4, this means the land should be protected for its agricultural opportunities, to encourage sustainable farming activities and provide for an opportunity for a variety of productive agricultural uses.

We must support our farming community. The use of hail netting means there is less use of chemicals, less water use, less use of bird/bat scaring devices, less hail damage, less contamination and less sun damage. Yarra Ranges is well placed to provide Melbourne with food and this will become more critical when peak oil becomes prominent and we are all concentrating on how many foodmiles our groceries have travelled.

These are difficult times for farmers, with climate change, less rainfall, increased oil prices and a plethora of other issues, we must support our farming communities as much as possible.

I was happy to vote in favour of hail netting and I’m pleased to say the application was approved by council.

Insurance costs fall for our public halls
Back in June I became very concerned when I was contacted by two local Public Hall Committees to say they could no longer manage their respective halls because of the enormous cost impost of public liability insurance. The burden of insurance costs led one committee to resign, the other desperate to try and find a resolution to the $1,800 problem.

This led me to move a motion to call for a report to look more closely at the issue (Council meeting 10/06/08).

The report came back to council this week and I was greatly pleased to move the motion that Council:
1. Cover Public Liability Insurance for Committees of Management for Public Halls owned by the Shire, contingent on the following non negotiable conditions:
a. The Committee of Management be an Incorporated Association.
b. The Committee of Management enter into a Licence Agreement with Council.
2. Assist with preparation and lodgement of documentation for the incorporation of the unincorporated Committees of Management as appropriate.
3. Endorse the Recreation Unit to undertake negotiations with relevant community organisations located close to Public Halls to assume management and responsibility for the Hall, in the event that the Hall Committee is either unable to meet the conditions outlined in Recommendation 1 or is considering folding.
4. Review the Public Halls and Community Centres Policy and Handbook as a matter of priority.

Even better news was that our insurer was able to include public liability insurance coverage of the public hall committees at no additional cost to council (and ratepayers). This is a terrific step forward in assisting those people who give freely of their time to run our halls. Public Hall Committees have enough on their plate running and managing the halls, anything we can do to help ease the administrative burden is a great step forward and lets them get on with what they want to do – manage the halls!

So to those committees in Lyster Ward who meet the criteria, your public liability costs will be met by the Shire of Yarra Ranges.
Belgrave Heights Progress Hall
Belgrave South Community Hall
Menzies Creek Hall
Narre Warren East Hall
St Martin’s Church and Hall

Other halls in the area are managed by the Shire, hopefully this move will encourage others to take up the opportunity to manage their community hall and start to rebuild the connection between local communities and their local halls.