Legislative Assembly 23 March 2022
Mr MORRIS (Mornington) (09:48): It appears the impact of the government’s financial recklessness is becoming evident. In fact they are now selling off assets.
One asset is 1 Mount Eliza Way in Mount Eliza. It is a 2600-square-metre block, and the asking price is $2 million to $2.2 million, so it is a valuable block.
The issue is that the government is doing this with absolutely no warning. This land has been a reserve for as long as anyone can remember, and in fact when I looked at the Landata map last night it is identified as the Mount Eliza Way Reserve.
It appears it was a road reserve purchase that is no longer required and is now being disposed of.
The recent report from the Environment and Planning Committee made the point that requiring highest and best use, which is government policy, leads to loss of sites such as this—sites that have been used for passive recreation for decades if not significantly more. This one probably goes back to the 1960s, when the road was constructed.
The issue with this one, though, is that I understand there has not been much conversation, if any, with the council. The council through third parties have certainly indicated that they would be prepared to consider acquiring the site.
This is the main gateway to Mount Eliza. It is an absolutely critical site. It will have a significant impact on the treescape if this proceeds and is developed.
So I call on the minister to suspend this process until the local community can be consulted properly.