Agricultural land protections need more than just laws: claims

The government recently amended the Planning and Environment Act of 1987 to mandate councils revise Green Wedge management plans that had been in place for more than 10 years.

The amendments to the act also seek to "protect, enhance and promote non-urban values and non-urban uses of Green Wedge land, and to give primacy to those values and uses."

The changes to the legislation also sought to "support primary production on Green Wedge land and to enable its growth by preventing incompatible uses and development, "while managing threats to land use change, that would detract from 'non-urban uses'."

State parliament was told Melbourne's 12 Green Wedges, in 17 municipalities on the outskirts of the city's urban growth boundary, were critical for food production, contributing just under $6 billion to the state's economy and supporting around 16,000 jobs.

Green Wedge land is defined under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 as being part of the metropolitan fringe planning scheme, outside the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB).

READ MORE:

Bass Labor MP Jordan Crugnale told parliament councils were to prepare plans "in accordance with the Minster for Planning's directions."

While most outer-metropolitan councils had prepared plans for their Green Wedge areas, they had never been a mandatory requirement to do so, she said.

"There has been no consistent format or requirement to update the plans at regular intervals," Ms Crugnale said.

The proposal was first canvassed more than three years ago, with the release of the Planning for Melbourne's Green Wedges and Agricultural Land (GWAL) discussion paper, which was part of Plan Melbourne.

But the amendments have been met with calls for even greater state government and planning tribunal protection for agricultural land.

Victorian Farmers Federation Planning, Environment and Climate Change committee chair Gerald Leach said the organisation was "disappointed", after being heavily engaged in the GWAL planning work.

"Two years later there has been no real actions on the issues raised by farmers and now there have been key changes to the Act without discussion with local communities or farming organisations," Mr Leach said.

"The changes themselves were tacked on to a bill that dealt with industry registration, but seek to downgrade and downplay the importance of agriculture in our Green Wedges which the previous Minister for Planning announced as significant and in need of protection from loss,"

He said it was telling that explanatory memorandum for the change focused on Green Wedges for tourism, electricity transmission and renewable energy, as well as for the landscape and environment but failed to even mention agriculture as a beneficial use of the land.

"It's extremely disappointing," Mr Leach said.

"The VFF is calling on the Planning Minister to talk to it, and farming communities, before making decisions that impact on them and undermine efforts to protect from land use conflict."

READ MORE: Calls to rethink urban farming planning rules

Mornington Peninsula mayor Steve Holland said the shire had a Green Wedge management plan for many years, which prioritised the non-urban uses of the land.

"Council's vision for the Green Wedge is that it is 'a place where the critical role of sustainable agriculture is recognised, protected and supported as a key land use and the productive capacity of land is conserved and enhanced for the future," Cr Holland said.

But he warned planning amendments were not enough.

"The capacity of a Green Wedge management plan to 'deliver practical benefits' is only as strong as the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal's willingness to uphold council's decisions that are informed by it," he said.

Sustainability and Urban Planning at RMIT University associate professor Andrew Butt said it was good Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny had signalled a government priority to look at development within the footprint of Melbourne.

"I suspect there will be pressure, in coming years, for new spaces of growth on the fringe of Melbourne," Assoc Prof Butt said.

He said planning was required for where that new growth would occur, so high-quality agricultural and environmental land - and industries that depended on them - would be protected.

It was important the agricultural and development sector, industry, and local government all had clarity and confidence as to where growth would happen.

"The Minister has to come up with a plan to say 'what's the stuff that's sacrosanct?'," he said.

"It's got to be signalled pretty clearly that if we are going to have development it's probably got to be in places that are less desirable, from an agricultural perspective.

"A statement has to come out, very clearly, that these are vital agricultural areas, individual farmers and industry generally have invested lots of money into those places."

He said "hard-line" legislation was not the solution, as it could always be changed.

And University of Melbourne School of Agriculture Food Systems senior lecturer Rachel Carey agreed it was vitally important the government introduced "strong measures" to protect all farmland around the city.

"That requires strong signals and new planning mechanisms, including a new food production zone," Dr Carey said.

The signals should indicate farmland should remain so, for the long term.

"Certainty is required and that will require multiple measures and new planning mechanisms, in any new requirements around Green Wedges," she said.

"Local governments work within the state government frameworks and it is very important the state government framework is strengthened around protection for agricultural land," she said.

The last few years had resulted in increasing shocks and stresses to food systems.

"It's an important and fundamental building blocks of a sustainable and resilient food system for the city and Melbourne's growing population," she said.

"Lack of certainty is undermining investment in agriculture, and the infrastructure required, in these areas."