South-Eastern Metropolitan Region
Rachel PAYNE (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (12:53): My constituency question is for the Minister for Environment. My constituent is a resident of Rowville and volunteers for the Friends of Lysterfield Park. These volunteers care for local parklands, including Churchill National Park in Endeavour Hills. Churchill park is a breeding site for the endangered southern toadlet. My constituent was alarmed to find a new landfill site adjacent to the frogs’ breeding ground. The site is roughly 3 metres deep and sits just outside the national park’s fence line. Landfill gases collect and spread underground, harming ecosystems. Casey council and Parks Victoria advise my constituent that planning overlays in the area negated the need for an environmental impact assessment. This is despite the landfill’s proximity to the national park. So my constituent asks: what safeguards exist to protect flora and fauna from contaminants when zoning overlays bypass an environmental impact statement?