The importance of the environment in the Hills

People move to the Hills for a number of reasons, relative cheapness of property, family etc. The number one reason for people staying, is the beautiful environment we live in.

One of the better things about working in the city is coming home to the Hills. The moment I get off the train, I can smell the blossoms and the freshness of the air. Getting out in the garden, or walking on one of the many bushwalks around the Hills is also a number one favourite of mine.

It is this environment that we must protect. We're hemmed in on both sides by massive growth corridors and suburban sprawl. I'm sure I'm not the only one who can remember the farmland around Narre Warren and Berwick where there are now McMansions. Green wedges must be protected, and grown if possible.

We need to resist the tendency to bring the 'burbs with us. Not much point living up here if you're only going to turn it into what you left behind.

Many groups - some new, a lot old do fantastic work managing and regenerating forest around the Shire. The Council has naturally taken their lead from residents, in taking a strong stance to protect the environment and ensure that the uniqueness of our environment is there for future generations.

Managing this complex eco-system does require consistency and support from council. It also requires real, substantive solutions to environmental issues as they arise. People have told me that planning and authorisations often take too long, and that flexibility in decisions is sometimes lacking. But it is important to remember that we are not saving the environment for its own sake - conservation and sustainability means little without people.

Substantive solutions mean real solutions. For me, the biggest issues facing the shire are:

• Environmental weeds - degrades the forest, detracts from bio-diversity
  
• Malfunctioning septics - stinks! Pollutes streams and waterways, gets into the water table thereby causing dieback.
  
• Water and drainage - like the above - maximising the use of water resources, ensuring its purity and minimising the affects on people through slippage.
  
• Coordinated planning - Ensuring that growth in the Shire is coordinated, to ensure continuity between different forest areas.
• Minimising affects on native wildlife - both through domestic animal controls and wildlife crossing. I for one am sick of seeing dead animals on the roads.
  

I think we need real solutions to these problems - not getting distracted on abstract 'big picture" issues like nuclear power and GM foods. These are obviously important AND controversial but are areas where the Shire can have little or no influence.

My focus is on people and the environment. A balanced approach to environmental policy and sustainability.