The South Gippsland Shire Council (SGSC) has in recent years driven the rebuilding of the Long Jetty and the creation of the Great Southern Rail Trail (GSRT) from Leongatha to Welshpool. It is now working for extensions at both ends – Leongatha to Nyora and Welshpool to Alberton. In addition the previous Council had prepared a Strategy for a Marina at Port Welshpool. That strategy was adopted in July 2019. This strategy has been ignored for 12 months. Aside from the progress made with the development of the GSRT, the SGSC has this last year killed off almost every other tourism development project – including the Southern Rail Group (privately funded) Tourist Steam Train proposal (Leongatha to Nyora). They went so far as to rip out the railway infrastructure to make sure nobody else could proceed with that project.

The Council is at a standstill in regard to further development of tourism at the Eastern end of the Shire. This is what needs to fixed. The Western end of the Shire is ripe for significant residential growth and effectively the eastern end needs to become the “playground” for leisure time activities. Note that SGS is within easy travel distance from the Melbourne Metro area – increasingly now important with local tourism coming into vogue as a result of Covid-19.

The following is a list of issues that suitable Tourism investment could assist.

1. Previous Councils had rezoned land adjacent to the gates (Yanakie) into the Wilsons Promontory National Park for a quality Tourist Resort. However, this development cannot proceed due to a lack of a suitable water supply. Since then the Council has taken over management of the Caravan Park at the end of Foleys Rd, Yanakie. This park is also hampered by a lack of a suitable water supply – especially over the busy summer when there is a significant fire risk.

2. Sandy Point Village has agitated for a new caravan park as the operator of the current small park wishes to convert that park to a unit site. The Council have undertaken a review and identified possible sites. However, the issue preventing any action is the lack of a water supply.

3. Waratah Bay – is a potential area for extra growth but it too is hampered by a lack of a water supply. However, Waratah Bay does have a sewer system. Waratah Bay is just 8km along the beach from Sandy Point. Waratah Bay also has substantial elevated adjoining land that could be suitable for residential growth. 

4. The creation of a trail from Foster to Wilsons Promontory National Park. This is a trail which bike tourist operators say is their number 1 request.

We need a mechanism to enable all these to move forward. Our proposal is to enable the water supply to be taken to these localities – that’s the circuit breaker. To facilitate that we need to allow for residential growth in these communities. That then leads to headworks charges levied against the properties created to provide the funds for the water supply. Taking water from Foster to Yanakie and Waratah Bay would involve around 40km of new water main – at a cost in the vicinity of $8 Million. To cover this cost from headworks charges we would need to create between 600 and 800 new lots. This would require between 60 and 80 hectares to be converted from farming to residential usage. This could be spread between the various areas and along the water main route, It could include some low-density residential development.

There is a unique benefit of our proposal in that by installing the new water main a cleared pathway is created, thus potentially opening up a new branch of the GSRT to the Prom and Waratah Bay. In a Council survey, bike riders have clearly indicated a desire for this trail linkage. If we can encourage this broad thinking we can generate $400 million in activity for our Shire whilst creating a housing opportunity for over 2000 people. This is a great boon for many businesses within the Shire and indeed for the Shire’s own revenue.

This concept opens up the Shire so that in a post Covid-19 world we give old businesses a better chance to survive and for new ones to be commenced. Given the constrained society we are to become, the capacity to holiday locally is something the community has to re-learn. Holidays are all about water and an abundance of it is something that makes South Gippsland inviting. We need to capitalise on that asset.

Some actions by the SGSC are quite perplexing. For instance, they extracted from the ratepayers some $540,000 in the 2019-2020 Budget to fund a proposed cantilevered viewing platform over Agnes Falls. Subsequently, without any consultation, the State Government appointed Administrators cancelled the project and simply appropriated those monies. Similarly, earlier councils had assisted the volunteer group pushing for the development of an Equestrian/Exhibition Centre at Stony Creek by covering the costs of feasibility studies etc (About $80,000 was spent). Despite this project having been voted by the community as being the most desired project only a couple of years prior, the new Administrators avoided public discussion and quashed the project. The proponents only required a contribution of about $100,000 to manage the first year of operation and then expected the project to be self-funding.

The lack of support for the private Tourist Steam Train project, had it been allowed to proceed, promised to benefit the Shire by about $30 million by the time it was up and running. In addition the Southern Rail Group would have covered the cost of the GSRT extension from Leongatha to Korumburra saving the community some $3.2 million.

In 2018, the Council developed the “Economic Growth and Tourist Strategy”. The new Administrators have totally ignored this well researched strategy and decided to waste time and money on re-inventing the wheel by splitting it into two segments and undertaking the preparation of new strategies. Their adopted process just moves true engagement with the community and potential investors further down the time spectrum. Time is something not to be wasted if businesses are to survive Covid-19. “Band-aid” assistance is no long-term solution and that is what the Administrators are offering. They have done nothing to promote the Port Welshpool Marina Strategy.

The woeful lack of focus on growth by the SGSC Administration is now laid bare in the statistics. Since we have not been development friendly and facilitated growth in recent years, the Shire is now paying a high price for that tardiness. There are very few substantial residential development opportunities in the Shire. There are meagre opportunities available right now that would enable people to participate in the Federal Government Home Builder Grant Scheme. That Scheme is believed to have stimulated a raft of development in localities where land was available. Our adjacent Shires – Baw Baw and Bass Coast – are bounding along with residential development – whilst we languish behind with a forecast growth rate of just 1.3% p.a out to 2035. They have got to be kidding!!

The management by the Administrators over the past year has done nothing other than add lead to the saddle bags! What’s more they have virtually closed down all the open opportunities for the public to engage with Council. They will say otherwise, but each month there is some further tightening of the rules associated with public interaction. Openness and transparency is a mirage and documents and actions pay lip service to the ideals. Even now with our Shire having Stage 3 Covid-19 restrictions – people are unable to meet in groups and the Shire Offices and Council chamber are shut. Snail mail via Aust Post is the means of delivering documents to or from. Other businesses have found ways of doing business without taking such extreme measure but SGSC prefers to maximise the inconvenience. The recent Community Satisfaction Survey shows that last year some 30% of residents had face to face contact with the Shire. This is now denied.

Expanding on the Port Welshpool Long Jetty Underwater Observatory idea – the jetty ends in water of around 8m depth – is similar to the situation at Busselton, West Australia. Other businesses feed of the main attraction. Port Welshpool already has the council run Caravan Park adjacent to the jetty plus, there is a strategy for a Marina. The “observatory” add on turns the Long Jetty into a tourist attraction of global significance. There are only about 6 similar underwater rooms in the world. SGS needs jobs and construction of the observatory fits the bill. The Observatory could be undertaken at nearby Barry’s Beach and then floated the 3 or 4km to Long Jetty where is could be set in place. With a positive mind set these jobs could be created quickly and would replace the 30 FTE jobs missed out on by a Council ignoring the SRG Steam Train proposal. Go for something really substantial and do the marina as well.

We urge all those who are the decision makers in our society to look closely at our positive suggestions and use their influence to stimulate the necessary changes to our Shire. We have made the case confirming the potential for South Gippsland Shire to have a huge beneficial impact on the economic output of the State of Victoria, given the right framework. We already attract over 400,000 visitors a year to the Prom annually. More attractions will enhance the SGS experience and visitors will stay longer.

Our focus is on creating an expanded tourism hub around Foster in the Eastern end of the Shire. The proximity to some tourist gems in Wellington Shire serves to enhance the concept. Tourists don’t care which Shire they are in – they want to be able to get around all that there is to experience in the vicinity of their chosen base.

We believe some meetings and /or forums to explore our concepts would be a worthwhile first step. Given the Administrators have a blind eye when it comes to growth and tourism in the Shire, we are taking the unusual step by turning elsewhere in our search for assistance in achieving a new direction for the South Gippsland Shire.

Yours truly

Lindsay Love

Sec, South Gippsland Action Group

0418307430