As we approach the 2,500 signature goal, and therefore an endorsement of the view that we need a regional strategic management plan, the petition has highlighted the need to protect the region’s Green Wedge environments.

It has become a matter of concern for many living in the shires of Mornington Peninsula, Casey and Cardinia as they seek to retain the green wedge attributes underpinning the environmental and economic stability of the region.

The Department Transport and Planning says, under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, a “green wedge land is defined as non-urban areas of metropolitan Melbourne that lie outside the urban growth boundary.  Melbourne’s green wedges and surrounding farmland are key to our economic prosperity.  They provide thousands of jobs in agriculture, conservation, and tourism as they host a range of activities including food production and agritourism such as our famous wineries. They also provide critical infrastructure like water treatment plants, and raw materials to build our houses, roads and train lines.  They also include some of the world’s best parks, wetlands and nature reserves, and contain a rich Aboriginal and post-contact cultural history.”

While the Labor Government’s 2018 election promise to tighten green wedge controls was welcomed, it is thought that some development proposals being tabled will destabilize the Green Wedges and they will continue to be threatened by “death from a thousand cuts”, so says the Green Wedge Coalition.

This petition is one way of supporting the Green Wedge principles and reminding the state government to uphold and entrench them in a legislated Western Port Region Strategic Management Plan.

Thank you to all who have signed and encouraged others to follow your lead.