Wednesday, 22 February 2023

Statements on tabled papers and petitions

Birrarung Council

Birrarung Council Annual Report to Parliament on the Implementation of Burndap Birrarung Burndap Umarkoo: Yarra Strategic Plan 2022

Sheena WATT (Northern Metropolitan) (17:12): I rise to speak on the Burndap Birrarung Burndap Umarkoo: Yarra Strategic Plan. The introduction of the landmark Yarra River Protection (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act 2017 enabled for the first time in Australia a river to be legally defined as a single living entity. The Birrarung has now become one of a small but growing number of rivers around the world that are recognised in law as living entities. The traditional owners the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung and Bunurong people have always considered the Birrarung to be the lifeblood of country. It flows through and across organisational boundaries, encompassing the land and waters of the river as well as its unique ecosystems. The plan reinforces this holistic view. The Birrarung requires our focus, our care and our reverence.

The Yarra strategic plan, the plan, Burndap Birrarung Burndap Umarkoo – and apologies to the traditional owners for any of my errors in pronunciation – is the very first plan to protect and enhance the Yarra River, Birrarung, and its parklands as one living and integrated natural entity, from the source to the sea. The plan sets out the first 10 years of action to deliver on the 50-year community vision, which sets out the community’s long-term aspirations for the Yarra River corridor. The Birrarung Council’s first report on implementation of Burndap Birrarung Burndap Umarkoo highlights the strong progress made over the first five months of the plan, including the strong commitment to the plan and the collaborative governance framework by traditional owners, government agencies and local councils.

Collectively local and state agencies invested over $50 million last year on activities that impact the Yarra strategic plan area. This plan will see this scale of investment delivering more holistic outcomes that align with the community’s vision through increased collaboration and coordination. The council report tells us that the journey to deliver the 50-year vision is just beginning. We need to continue to embed long-term change, focusing on the governance to support decision-making through the use of decision-making frameworks, through building strong partnerships between agencies and Wurundjeri and Bunurong as the traditional owners of the Birrarung. It is all our responsibility to protect Birrarung today, tomorrow and for generations to come.

Implementation planning for 2023 is in full swing. Since the plan’s launch in February the priority has been to embed a collaborative governance model under the guidance of the Birrarung Council as the voice of the river and also reconvening the Yarra Collaboration Committee and operationalising the plan in business processes for responsible public entities and other organisations with interest in the management of the Yarra. These include Melbourne Water, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, Parks Victoria, the Department of Transport and Planning, the Victorian Planning Authority, the City of Manningham, Banyule City Council, the City of Boroondara, the City of Melbourne council, Nillumbik Shire Council, City of Yarra council, Yarra Ranges Shire Council and the City of Stonnington council, the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, the Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation and the Birrarung Council.

The act specifies reporting obligations for responsible public entities: the lead agency, which is Melbourne Water in this case; the Birrarung Council; and the responsible minister. These responsible public entities submit a report on the implementation of the Yarra strategic planover the defined reporting period, currently 12 months, to the lead agency, Melbourne Water. As the lead agency Melbourne Water must compile a report with information collected from responsible public entities and provide it to the Birrarung Council to assist with their reporting obligations. The Birrarung Council must report to the Minister for Water on implementation on or before 31 October each year. It also states that the Minister for Water must cause the Birrarung Council and lead agency’s report to be tabled in both houses of Parliament within seven days of the receipt of the report, which obviously brought us to the ministers statement we heard this morning from the Minister for Water. I must say that this is a marvellous report, and I ask the chamber to note this historic and landmark report.