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A MILLION PAWS FOR SAFE ANIMALS
Solar good in the right spot Page 4
WANGARATTA Kennel & Obedience Dog Club vice president Marion Gray and Marion Blundy and their dogs Molly, Louisa and Rex are excited for the Million Paws Walk this month. PHOTO: Chloe Jaenicke ■ See story page 2
Rock legend Ross Wilson coming to city Page 5
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A fight for agriculture Council split p on ggovernment ruling g to scrap p tribunal p process for state’s energy gy facilities
A SPECIAL motion at Wangaratta council, based on the State Government’s fast-tracking of solar facilities, has caused a stir between councillors. Debate centred around the preservation of agricultural land against the adhoc positioning of renewable energy facilities and about reinstating the democratic right of people to appeal planning decisions on these facilities at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
BY STEVE KELLY skelly@ nemedia.com.au
The vote at the monthly council meeting was split three-all and decided by the mayor’s vote, with Crs Harvey Benton, Irene Grant and Dean Rees for the motion to advocate an action plan to appeal the current legislation that limits the community’s ability to contest a planning decision at VCAT.
Part two of the carried motion will also prompt council to ask the State Government to support the protection of agricultural land for food, fibre and viticultural production. However, the motion was met strongly, with Cr Jack Herry contesting elements of the affirmative’s argument. There were several calls for points of order as discussions on the topic were said to be over the time limit. As a preamble to the
motion, Cr Benton read out the reasons being around the potential installation of renewable energy facilities in the rural city located on high quality agricultural land. “Agriculture is a main economic driver (with a multiplier factor of four) for the Rural City of Wangaratta,” he said. “The loss and destruction of arable land currently producing food, beverage, and fibre to renewable energy infrastructure (also
WANGARATTA BEARINGS AND INDUSTRIAL SUPPLIES
transmission lines) would have a serious and longlasting economic impact to the municipality. “In addition to the economic impacts, the loss of agricultural land would also have significant negative social and environmental impacts. “While clean, renewable energy is vital to the future of our planet, so too is our ability to feed, nurture and positively grow our rural communities.” Cr Herry rebutted several
assertions and aimed at the points of motion saying the item was about energy and the need for new forms of energy. “I’ve got a lot of sympathy for the expectation that there are good processes around community engagement,” he said. “Another core issue alongside agriculture reproduction is energy production because this is about energy at the end of the day. ■ Continued page 3
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