There can be no doubt of the great importance and value Victorians attach to our coastline. The coast contains many important features of ecological, geological and scientific interest, together with landscapes of scenic, archaeological and cultural significance. The 2000-kilometre coastline of Victoria is one of the state’s most significant assets. The vast majority of Victorians live close to the coast. It is one of our leading tourism destinations, and it supports key port infrastructure. It provides enjoyment and recreation for a high proportion of Victorians.

Our coasts are coming under increasing pressure for a variety of uses, which can result in land use conflicts and the degradation of coastal habitat. The challenge is to ensure that its many attributes are managed in a sustainable fashion and that decisions about competing uses are balanced in the interests of all Victorians.

On coming to office in 1992 we inherited an unworkable system of coastal management which had evolved without any sense of direction or purpose since last century. Today there are about 160 separate agencies, municipalities and committees of management involved in running the Victorian coast, operating under 29 separate acts of Parliament.

Despite the multitude of agencies and legislation there has never been a coordinated strategy for the Victorian coast, and since the demise of the Port Phillip Authority in 1984 there has also been an absence of leadership. That ad hoc approach resulted in inappropriate subdivisions in sensitive habitats, ocean outfalls that contaminated popular swimming beaches with untreated sewage, lack of boating and associated recreation and tourist facilities and poorly sited and designed coastal structure.

A major failing is the virtual exclusion of the Victorian public from coastal planning and management with limited opportunities for public involvement. There is also an appalling lack of information and educational effort in relation to the coast. It is essential that the trend away from public involvement be reversed as a matter of priority.

This bill provides a mechanism to establish a new focus for the coast and to provide an effective long-term statutory and institutional framework. It implements a key commitment in the coalition’s conservation and land management policy released in September 1992.

The purpose of this initiative is to provide a positive advocate for the coast which seeks to promote the coast in accordance with the public interest. The broad aims of the bill are to protect and manage the coast for the enjoyment of current and future generations, to create a statewide Coastal and Bay Management Council (Cabmac), to enable the establishment of regional coastal boards and to provide for coordinated strategic planning for the Victorian coast and a uniform approach to coastal use and development approvals.

The five specific objectives of the act are as follows:

• to plan for and manage the use of Victoria’s coastal resources on a sustainable basis for recreation, conservation, tourism, commerce and similar uses in appropriate areas;
• to protect and maintain areas of environmental significance on the coast including the ecological, geomorphological, geological, cultural and landscape features;
• to facilitate the development of a range of facilities for improved recreation and tourism;
• to maintain and improve coastal water quality; and
• to improve public awareness and understanding of the Victorian coast and to involve the public in coastal planning and management.

The new Coastal and Bay Management Council will develop Victoria’s first coastal strategy, advise the Minister for Conservation and Environment on the development and implementation of coastal policy, prepare guidelines for development and oversee the development of coastal action plans. The council’s scope includes the entire Victorian coastline. It will receive advice from many sources and will advise the minister on the approval of coastal action plans. It will also advise on management plans for coastal Crown land. Plans and strategies developed by the council and regional coastal boards will be consistent with legislated land use provisions in respect of parks and conservation reserves. It will not usually be involved in day-to-day operational issues.

Regional coastal boards are to be established. Initially three boards are proposed: a Central Coastal Board for the area from the edge of Geelong to Wilsons Promontory; a West Coast Board; and a Gippsland Coast Board. These boards will facilitate regional coastal planing through the development of coastal action plans, provide advice to the coastal council, consider major development issues, act as a forum for public input on coastal issues and develop regional guidelines on such matter as siting and design and landscaping. Other boards may be created where necessary.

Once established, the approved coastal strategy and individual coastal action plans will provide a framework for the Minister for Conservation and Environment to delegate responsibility for consenting to the use and development of coastal Crown land and will guide day-to-day management of coastal Crown land.

Local committees of management will continue to operate under the new structure, but there will be two major changes. Firstly, all committees of management will operate in accordance with the strategic directions set by the coastal council and the regional boards. Secondly, the long-term trend towards fragmentation of committees of management will be reversed by rationalising the number of bodies responsible for coastal management. Use and development control will be implemented via planning schemes established pursuant to the Planning and Environment Act 1987 while ensuring that the landowner – the Crown – retains a veto role. The planning permit process will be managed by local government. Local government will play an enhanced role in coastal planning and coordination through representation on the council and regional coastal boards and through the use and development approvals process.

Public consultation about the future coastal planning and management arrangements included the release of a discussion paper in February 1994. This provided the primary means of consulting widely with relevant groups, agencies and interested members of the public. A series of consultative meetings were held at regional centres to facilitate discussion of options presented in the discussion paper.

More than 200 written submissions have been received and they have assisted the formulation of the draft bill. The submissions were overwhelmingly in favour of the creation of the Coastal and Bay Management Council to provide a focus for coordinated strategic planning for coastal land. A reference group was established to provide independent advice on submissions received in response to the discussion paper. The reference group noted the overwhelming support for reform and the creation of a council with responsibility for strategic coastal planning. The development of a Victorian coastal strategy is seen by the reference group as a priority task for the council. A number of operational provisions in the bill give effect to those intentions and they are detailed in the notes on clauses.

This is a long-overdue law reform which will provide a new focus for the coast. It is destined to be a model adopted by the other states and will ensure sound, proactive management of this important natural resource.

I commend the bill to the house.