NEWS DESK
Last chance for precious Liz Bell liz@baysidenews.com.au A FLYING mammal that lives on the Mornington Peninsula but is listed as “vulnerable” by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) could be the last hope of saving the former South East Water reservoir in Mt Eliza from development. Since South East Water announced plans last year to rezone the 2.8 ha Kunyung Rd site, it has largely been untouched and remains one of Mt Eliza’s last wildlife habitats. A variety of frogs, flying foxes and possibly the almost extinct southern brown bandicoot and the nationally significant white-footed dunnart live there. Environmentalists are concerned their protests over redevelopment plans are falling on deaf ears, with the lure of profit coming first. However, there are hopes that an appeal to protect the grey-headed flying fox may give protestors “a national lifeline”. The mammal, which eats native flowers, pollen and nectar and has colonies at the site, is known to play a vital role in keeping ecosystems in good health. Fears are also growing that most of the remaining environmentally sensitive land in Mt Eliza will soon be snapped up for development, with rumours that the buyer of the neighbouring Moondah estate in Kunyung Rd – Ryman Healthcare – is interested in acquiring the South East Water site. New Zealand-based Ryman Healthcare recently paid almost $40 million for the 8.9-hectare waterfront property, and has indicated it is continuing to look for suitable sites to build more aged care facilities in Australia. South Eastern Centre for Sustainability president Steve Karakitsos said further development in the Kunyung Rd area was threatening already
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Frankston Times 10 October 2016
Nature at risk: The former reservoir could be sold for housing. Picture: Yanni
vulnerable species, such as the grey-head flying fox. He said South East Water’s plan to redevelop its Mt Eliza land for profit showed it had little concern for the “hundreds of thousands” of native species living there. “We all know about the giant panda and rhino but are oblivious to the animals in our own backyards,” he said. Mr Karakitsos said South East Water should be true to its public image of caring for the environment.
The company has refused to back down from its plan to rezone and develop the land for housing, with chief spokesman Rupert Posner saying last week that the matter was “still being considered”. Mr Posner, once the CEO for not-for-profit group Good Environmental Choice Australia, was quoted in online magazine Otter in 2013 as being concerned about the loss of orangutan habitat in south East Asia. “This refusal to acknowledge one of South East Water’s local assets of significant biodiversity and consistent refusal to protect this, blatantly contra-
dicts the lip service of South East Water’s commitment to sustainability,” said Mr Karakitsos. “This frightening outcome is avoidable and totally unnecessary.” Mornington MP David Morris, who raised the issue in parliament in August, has called on Environment Minister Lisa Neville to halt the development of the land for housing due to its importance in “supporting local wildlife”. Mr Morris called on the minister to “use her authority” to transfer the land to the Mornington Peninsula Shire so it won’t be “lost to housing”.