Wednesday, 19 February 2025

Petitions

Newhaven Jetty

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (17:40): I move:

That the petition be taken into consideration.

If you travel from San Remo over to Phillip Island, you are greeted with a beautiful vista. You are greeted with San Remo on the left, and to the right you are greeted with the Newhaven Jetty. It is a T-shaped jetty, and it has been serving that community for decades. It is popular, land-based and disability-friendly, and it is a mecca for anglers, tourists and those wishing to be out in nature to grab a fantastic photo that they can cherish with their families. It is magnificent scenery, and it is magnificent fishing, as all the locals will tell you. It has history, and it adds great value to the tourism industry as well as mental health benefits for the locals.

In 2018, rather than completing a maintenance check on the south arm of that T, Labor barricaded the section. Unbeknownst to locals, surface conditional assessments were being undertaken by Parks Victoria, the body that looks after that jetty, and information was being fed to the state government. Recommendations and requests to the Minister for Ports and Freight for funding to conduct further detailed structural and load-bearing engineering assessments were ignored. We have heard the words ‘shaky figures’ in my FOIs and cost estimates ranging from $120,000 to $530,000 to $3 million to ‘dot, dot, dot’ to reopen the approach arm. They were uncovered by the FOI documents that I have found.

You will not be surprised that the local community were dismayed beyond belief, frustrated and angry when on 21 May last year the entire Newhaven Jetty was barricaded off with high wire and closed to public access with a ‘Permanent closure’ sign – permanently, without warning and with no prior contact or forewarning to the locals, not from the local member, the local department or the minister for ports. Clearly, Bass Coast is suffering from a lack of transparency, a lack of priority and a lack of respect and advocacy. When I met with locals early in June at a rally, where there were about 100 people standing right beside that closed-off jetty, it stimulated action, and I was happy to sponsor the petition that came from the community. I would like to thank Amanda Keilar, Ben Dennis, Brian Johnston, Lisa Webster, Terry Hendrix, the 2424 who took up the campaign and signed in a matter of days and the additional 1300 who signed the e-petition online. I would like to acknowledge Ben, Amanda and Lisa, who are in the audience today and who have been able to get in to meet the minister after my request earlier this week noting their attendance.

Reiterating the petition, it is about requesting the government provide funding to reopen that jetty and provide a timeline for the community. Clearly, erecting a fence is a get-out-of-jail, cheapest option, but it is not best to serve that community. Looking at the social, ecological and environmental impact, we spoke to Amanda Keilar, who is a wonderful advocate for her region. She talked about the disability accessibility of that platform and how it should be available to everyone, irrespective of their ability or financial status in a cost-of-living crisis.

Ben Dennis signed a 21-year lease on Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action land that abuts the Newhaven Jetty. He has put his life savings into the Saltwater restaurant. He has not had a grant from the government. He took it all on himself, but he had a long vision because he had a long lease. Now he is facing a closed jetty and walled-off fence. He employs somewhere up to 30 people, and his business model is centred around creating that wonderful opportunity for weddings and functions and photos out on the end of that jetty. Now he is at a loss with his business, and indeed his personal health is suffering. That is not good enough.

Parks Victoria were looking to find a way to fund this, and they had three options – one was to do nothing, and the other two were about maintaining public access. Labor’s Sustainable Local Ports Framework has not listed this jetty, and others may talk about this later, but an internal document from the FOIs actually has Newhaven ranked at number two behind Middle Brighton, which received $24 million in 2021. Now it seems to have been lost from the agenda. This government absolutely must take this petition, understand the community sentiment and work with this community to find a way to open that jetty.

Tom McINTOSH (Eastern Victoria) (17:45): I want to start off by acknowledging those that are here today and those that are watching online. In my role as a member for Eastern Victoria Region, I am constantly talking to people about boating and about fishing. It is absolutely not lost on me the value to our communities and to tourists of jetties and piers. Whether it is our kids getting out on them, whether it is people just being able to go for a stroll or indeed fishing or launching boats, it is really, really valuable, and I am proud that our government has taken long-term approach to investing in infrastructure so people can get active, can get out and about and can follow pursuits, hobbies or whatever it might be on the water.

The member for Bass Jordan Crugnale is here right now. We were out on the water on Western Port just last week. I chat to Jordan frequently and I have been chatting to Jordan today. Jordan is an incredible advocate for her local community, but I do want to acknowledge those that have signed the petition on the Newhaven Jetty. My region covers the peninsula all the way to the New South Wales border, alongside Ms Bath, who spoke first on this. We have parts of Dromana Pier that have – I hope my technical terms are right – effectively rust within the concrete, which have been fenced off and are waiting for repair. There are a number of jetties and piers that are having work done on them or have had work done on them, and it has been great to get on some of those that are finished, but obviously there are others that are waiting for work to occur.

In talking to Jordan I know that she has been in with the minister this afternoon pushing the case for the Newhaven Jetty, and Jordan has told me, as I look up to her in here, that we have got recreation fishing advocates Amanda Keilar and Lisa Webster; as Ms Bath has pointed out, representatives of the Newhaven Residents Group, with 250 members; and Ben Dennis from Saltwater Phillip Island, who has invested in the boatshed and turned it into a wonderful hospitality venue. On behalf of Jordan and me, thank you for your ongoing advocacy and the work that you have done in this, noting the history of the jetty and the area. On behalf of the government, on behalf of Jordan, we absolutely hear you. We have got a commitment to investing in jetties and piers for all the reasons that I outlined earlier, and your local member is working hard advocating for you on this issue.

Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (17:48): I rise to speak in support of the petition qualifying for debate in Ms Bath’s name, and I want to congratulate Ms Bath and also the outstanding community members who have put their hands to the plough and gathered more signatures than any other petition in the history of this Parliament. Not only is that an incredible community achievement but it also speaks to the importance of this issue, an issue that the government would do well not to overlook but to actually act on. I want to say, Mr McIntosh, the fact that you and Ms Crugnale were out on the water just last week does not actually provide the communities you are neglecting with any comfort.

Jetties are an important community asset that provide the community with access to local waterways, an important part of the community’s lifestyle. The Newhaven Jetty, which is in my electorate as well as Ms Bath’s and Mr Mcintosh’s, in Eastern Victoria Region, has huge historical significance, not only for Newhaven but for the wider Bass Coast community. It was originally constructed in the 1900s. It is part of the history of the community, which is much loved not only by locals but also by tourists. That is why so many are rallying to have it restored after it was closed to the public indefinitely without any warning due to what they called structural failures after a visual inspection. Documents accessed via freedom of information showed that the government stopped a level 3 engineering assessment being done that would have assessed its structural and capacity load. Why would they do that? The jetty should not be shut down. The jetty should be restored. Locals were blindsided by this. There was no consultation with community or stakeholders, no consultation with fishing advocates, no consultation with the Saltwater Phillip Island restaurant, regardless of the fact that it will possibly have detrimental impacts on that business, and no consultation with the community.

I think it is high time that this government stops overlooking local communities. The government need to remember that they were not elected to govern just for Melbourne, they were not elected to govern just for within the tram tracks – they were elected to govern for all Victorians, including rural and regional communities like this one. To be quite frank, they are failing that, so I commend this motion to the house.

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (17:51): I commend Melina Bath for being a strong community advocate. She is asking the questions and she is seeking answers, engaging with the community, pursuing the government and drawing this issue to the attention of Parliament. Newhaven is a beautiful small town on Phillip Island near San Remo, and I have enjoyed visiting Philip Island over the years for family holidays and enjoyed many fish and chips on the beach. Thousands of people have signed this petition, and there would be many more who have got memories of being on that jetty. It was a well-used public asset with a popular recreational fishing platform.

Really, this could almost be like a blockbuster movie if you were to write a script. The petition calls on the government to save the Newhaven Jetty and deliver funding and a timeline for its reopening in consultation with local residents. It has taken freedom of information requests to reveal that the jetty could have remained open with maintenance and was high on the internal infrastructure priority list, yet it was closed last year – with no consultation, no advance notice, no transparency and no proper assessment of its structural condition or due diligence to ascertain the cost to fix it. Its closure is having a big impact on local businesses with a decline in tourism. It was closed without notice. No consultation with key stakeholders – just closed with fences put up and padlocked. Sound familiar?

They put a padlock on our sustainable native timber industry. More than six years earlier than expected this government announced the industry would close within months. It was devastating for the towns and the families that relied on this industry. At the Herald Sun bush summit in Bendigo the Premier declared that she would not padlock our forests, yet within months we saw the opposite. They have since put a padlock on Mount Arapiles, a world-class rock climbing site that draws people to towns like Natimuk.

Ms Bath today presented a petition for no new national parks, a petition that has broken the record for the highest number of signatures with I believe over 40,000 signatures. They are people who want our parks and forests to remain open and accessible. But this government love padlocks and they love secrecy. The Commonwealth Games is another example of closure without notice – cancelled, just like that – of an international sporting event. It made a mockery of our state on the world stage. During the course of the parliamentary inquiry into this issue we requested documents in this chamber that the government should have produced, and the government refused to produce them. I am still waiting for answers to a question I raised about the Commonwealth Games which dates back to 2023. The state government exists to manage money, public money, so you would expect transparency in the process. But too often we have seen this government ask people to sign non-disclosure agreements or confidentiality agreements.

I remember speaking with people in the timber industry when they faced closure – six years earlier than expected, as I said – who were scared about speaking out because the government had forced them to sign an agreement. Otherwise they would have been eligible for no payouts at all. I am concerned that this government does not know how to maintain history. They like glossy new buildings and ribbons they can cut, but they are not so good at maintaining historically significant sites. I am thinking of the old Bendigo law courts, a beautiful example of Bendigo’s heritage architecture from the 1890s, which have sat empty since the new law courts were opened in February 2023. There have been calls from the community for it to be put to good use, amid fears it will fall into disrepair. The Attorney-General, 12 months ago this next week, indicated that there would be meaningful community engagement, but I am yet to see that happen.

But here we are. Newhaven jetty is a popular jetty in a small town. Closing it makes a big difference. It was closed based on a visual inspection. Perhaps the government need a new pair of glasses – they need to go to Specsavers. This government needs a new vision and a new perspective that values small towns in regional areas. No, the jetty is not the $200 billion Suburban Rail Loop. It is not one of the 53 projects that the Auditor-General identified today that will cost nearly $15 billion more than expected. Just to maintain this jetty is literally a drop in the ocean, but the track record of this state government over the last decade is clear: they cannot manage money and regional communities across the state are paying the price. I commend Ms Bath for bringing this matter before the Parliament today.

Jeff BOURMAN (Eastern Victoria) (17:55): I will make a short contribution to the petition that Ms Bath has presented today to restore the Newhaven jetty. 2424 signatures is not an insignificant amount of people, particularly for what would appear to be a niche sort of issue. The Newhaven jetty is, obviously, important to at least the 2400 people that signed that petition but clearly a lot more. The use of a jetty is not just for fishing. There are a lot of people who go out there to think about life. There are times when I like going to a jetty just to be out on the water. I have got to say sometimes if the squid are running it is not exactly lonely out there – there are a zillion people – but there are times when you can go out there and just spend some time enjoying nature. To take up one little part that Mrs Broad brought up, it is a small amount of money in the big picture. The Newhaven jetty, even if it were to be – not that I am suggesting this, because it is a historic jetty – razed and rebuilt, would still be a tiny amount in the scheme of things. To a small town these amounts add up to a lot. We are seeing a problem in regional and rural Victoria in general with declines in the amount of jobs leading to various socio-economic issues. I think the government should sit up and take notice of a petition such as this, because it is an opportunity for what I see as a small spend to do a lot for a small community.

Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (17:57): I thank the members for their contributions: Mr McIntosh, Dr Heath, Mrs Broad and Mr Bourman, who shares the electorate with Dr Heath, Mr McIntosh and me. My colleague Mrs Broad has such a beautiful turn of phrase and can knit an argument with such eloquence. It is always delightful to listen to her. I thank Mr Bourman for coming in and participating in this. There is a word in his party title which actually relates to fishing, so it was fabulous that he was able to use that today. Dr Heath is of course always ready to support not only her electorate but also members on this side of the chamber in debate, so thank you. Mr McIntosh, what I would like to see and I am sure what all of the community down there in Newhaven would like to see is for you to come down with your local member, the member for Bass, and cut the chains that sit on that jetty after it has been improved and upgraded. What the whole community would like to see is a positive outcome, and that is why as a member of Parliament when you are in opposition you use the instruments that are available to you. You use petitions, you use debates and you use freedom of information because you do not have your hands on the purse. As we have heard today, this government has a black hole of debt, and the debt is a centrifugal force that is centred on the centre of Melbourne. So many times regional Victoria, including Eastern Victoria, is left by the wayside, and our communities feel that acutely. It is very hard, and most people will know this when they are out in their community. You have somebody whose life vision is in jeopardy – (Time expired)

Motion agreed to.