Help us and take action

We strongly encourage you if you have additional objections to the new documentation submitted in the ANARE planning permit to lodge another objection (Note - Your initial objection still holds and will be evaluated as part of the planning approval process). Below are some key points that you can incorporate into your objection letter. 

Object on the grounds of environmental impacts.

•  In the SEMP (one of the documents submitted by ARV)  it outlines “A small area of impact will occur to Alpine Bog vegetation behind the ANARE shed, which is listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 199 (EPBC Act).”  Alpine Peat Bogs are crucial for providing habitat and for modulating water-flow and maintaining hydrology of surrounding environments. Peat bogs also store organic matter on millennial timescales but can also potentially release large carbon stores to the environment if damaged.    Any impact to the Alpine Peat bogs on Lakeside is not acceptable as they are protected.
• The proposed plans will not protect the range of threatened fauna including Alpine She-oak Skink, Broad-toothed Rat, Tussock Skink, Mountain Pygmy- possum and Gang Gang Cockatoo observed by Biosis in the area. These species are listed under the EPBC Act and/or FFG Act. Relocating wildlife including staged habitat removal to ‘minimise the risk of wildlife mortality’ is not acceptable for a development that is not required. 

The development is not appropriate for an Alpine Environment

• Carparks e.g. Wallace's Hut on the other side of the dam in the National Park are not sealed surfaces and are constructed of crushed stone/gravel.  They fit more into the landscape and more appropriate for a natural alpine environment.  Gravel carparks are also permeable which should help protect the listed alpine peat bogs in the surrounding area.  Gravel also holds the snow better than asphalt and will not act as a heat sink when snow thins. 
• As the Alpine Resorts Commission has confirmed that they are not going to clear the road over winter so there is no requirement for a sealed surface for road clearing purposes and no requirement (as outlined in the planning permit) of using it as Kangaroo Hoppet overflow parking - so the maximum number of carparks they should be providing is 40. This should be catered for with the existing car parking available during summer and without the need for earthworks to create an official a new parking area.  No carpark development would significantly reduce earthworks and the removal of vegetation that is occupied habitat for the Broad-toothed Rat and potentially other threatened species.  Overflow parking would be catered for using the current gravel car trails towards the boat ramp. Rocks or fencing placed at strategic locations would stop the issue of uncontrolled parking on verges and associate damage.  
• The building while being promoted as eco-friendly will be a cavernous space that will be expensive to heat majority of the year. It has not been designed to manage the high winds and driven snow the south facing alpine environment at Falls Creek experiences.

Object on the grounds that there are better options and they have not been adequately explored.

• A development like this would be better located at Windy Corner where there is easy access to sewerage and other services, located within easy walk of the village, could potentially serve multiple communities including mountain bikers, downhill skiers, cross country skiers, walkers, researchers because it could be designed with larger multi use facilities. It could be built to be accessible to all users and minimise environmental impact because there is already a carpark on the site.
• It's not appropriate to store and truck sewerage regularly out from the ANARE development as it increases the numbers heavy vehicles on the Bogong High Plains Road.
• The Falls Creek Master Plan is not an ‘internal reference document’ as per the response from Falls Creek.  It went through rigorous public consultation, was tabled in Parliament, is signed by the Minister for the Environment and is an incorporated document in the Alpine Resorts Planning Scheme. 

Raise a concern that there is a lack of transparency about ANARE shed usage over winter.

• There is potential that as soon as this development is completed Alpine Resorts Victoria will put pressure on to clear the road and use it for winter usage because it is not economically viable venue just to run just in summer.
• There is also no transparency by Alpine Resorts Victoria about use of the building over winter in the planning permit now that Alpine Resorts Victoria has said how they are not going to clear the road “...until the facility has been redeveloped and there is a clear understanding of how the site should be optimally operated and accessed, grooming of the road for cross country skier and trail walker usage will remain.”

How to lodge an objection... 

Use the template below and add the relevant points above you object to.  

Submit it ideally before 3rd August but objections will continue to be accepted until the responsible authority makes a decision on the permit.

Any person who may be affected by the granting of the permit may object or make other submissions to the responsible authority by email to development.approvals@delwp.vic.gov.au or by post to

Attention: Michael Dafnomilis, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, VIC 3002. 

An objection must: 

• be made to the Responsible Authority in writing,
• include the reasons for the objection, and
• state how the objector would be affected. 

The responsible authority will not decide on the application before: 3rd August.