DELWP defends Anglesea Futures consultation

THE Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has refused to confirm or deny the existence of a survey that reportedly found considerable community opposition to the long-term plan for the Anglesea coal mine site.
There has been some community opposition to the Anglesea Futures Land Use Framework throughout its development, particularly about the proposal to relocate the Anglesea Bike Park.
The draft Land Use plan received 365 survey responses, 69 written submissions and a petition of 5,500 signatures.
The summary of feedback contains comments both for and against the plan’s various elements, but some in the Anglesea community have been calling for years for all submissions to be published to better measure the level of local support (or not) for the Anglesea Futures plan.
DELWP has consistently refused to do so, with DELWP Barwon South West regional director Colleen White saying in 2018 that the summary was “a true reflection of the range of feedback received from those who have participated in the process”.
A question on notice to the Alcoa Community Consultation Network meeting on February 24 this year stated that “DELWP had supressed (sic) the results of a second survey that clearly showed that Anglesea and the wider community have a completely different view than that recommended by the Anglesea Futures Land Use Report” and called for the results of that survey and “a similar survey conducted by Alcoa at the same time” to be released in full.
Ms White did not respond directly to a question from this newspaper about the existence of a second survey, its results, or if it had been suppressed.
She said the Anglesea Futures Land Use Framework incorporated “a variety of community and stakeholder feedback collected through local drop-in sessions, longer-form submissions and an online survey”.
“DELWP is confident the final Framework reflects the diversity of the views heard, including those of the local community, visitors, land owners, local business owners, environment groups and people with an interest in the Great Ocean Road region.”