Point Nepean development rushed through at last minute
On Wednesday, Mornington Peninsula surfers received news that a large swathe of National Park at Point Nepean had been leased to a developer. The land includes the old quarantine station inside Point Nepean that lends its name to the nearby wave, Quarantines, or simply Quarras.
The deal is particularly galling for locals as they've fought the development for years only to have it passed in the final hours before the state government entered caretaker mode. Victorians go to the polls on the 29th November with Denis Napthine's Liberal party expecting a crushing defeat. The Point Nepean deal was one of their very last actions.
The 50-year agreement covers 64 hectares of national park including 50 buildings that overlook the Mornington Peninsula. The developers are Point Leisure Group, who plan to turn the site into an eco resort - and isn't there always an eco resort - comprising hot springs, a spa, a restaurant, a 108-room hotel, a conference centre, and a "wellbeing centre".
Curiously the lease has an exit clause should Point Leisure Group not find hot springs in the area. Curious because the area isn't remote or inaccesible, a short amount of time spent surveying would provide the answer. However, it appears the government and developers didn't have that time.
The story is being covered in the Fairfax press by Rania Spooner, crime reporter.
Comments
What a shame, its such a beautiful area. Considering the lack of spaces reserved for environment I hope Vicco surfers (I used to be one) fight this and win.
Follow the money.
What ties do the Point Leisure Group directors have to the Victorian government?
This is why people hate politicians.
http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/finding/location/vic/33567-shelmerdin...
Googled around, found this. This deal stinks.
Much of the national park is inaccessible to the public given its former use. Apart for access roads and walking tracks this 64 hectares represents a very large percentage of open place available to the public.
I'm not opposed to development in national parks if its done right and this development is off to a very poor start. Not sure why you need a convention centre there, low rise/impact would have been ideal, the road in and out of that area is over stretched already .... just more poor planning and grubby sneaky are the words that immediately comes to mind. But, I don't see it going ahead, there is enough old Melbourne money in Portsea to have it in the courts for years.
Also $40 mill over 50 years just seems a ridiculously cheap deal... must be mates rates.
You reckon' it won't get up Floyd?
The money is coming from Old Melbourne and the developers pop was a Mornington Peninsular councillor.
Some shady backdoor shenannigans going on there.
Yeah, its odd isn't it?
Pretty much all the houses on the right hand side of the road driving into the national park from the Portsea pub would arguably be Victoria's prime real estate. Many blocks would be over an acre and all have unparalleled northerly views of Port Phillip bay and the houses are massive and many have little private beaches and jetties out the front.
Why upset the natives?
Perhaps its a reflection of the transition of power from old traditional "liberals" who had a conscious when it came to the environment and refugees etc to the more hard arsed tea party styled conservatives that's currently all the rage.
Matthew Guy, current Victorian planning minister, will be remembered alright but for all the wrong reasons.
It's not what you know ehy.
In my back yard. Not opposed to the scale as it seems from the sketchy details available that it is low key, and this particular area within the park could handle something of this sort as long as the general area was still open to the public. The whole project hinges on a big IF they can tap into geothermal water. There is an existing hot springs down here and they had to go 650m down to get to it and it is located many km's away from this site. These guys may not even find it here. Biggest problem I feel was the lack of public exposure to the whole proposal. One minute it wasn't there, next it was. For a national park this seems a a wee bit flippant to say the least. It is a beautiful area close to Melbourne (with great surf ) and to treat it with this sort of cloak and dagger dealing seems ludicrous. Planning permits? Who needs them when you have a sympathetic poli. Not sure what the Labor party will do once they get in power which it looks like they will and how tight the contracts are.
I live 10 mins away and work quiet regularly in the park as a contractor. What the peoples from Melbourne that come down on the holidays seem to forget is that there is only one road in and one out. Once you get to the gates at Pt Nepean you have to turn around and head back up the highway. I really cant see how such a fragile and historically sensitive place can tolerate any more visitors through the gates..
Maybe im wrong and it wont make a difference to local traffic and the impact on the park itself but I cant see this happening.
the areas been open to the public for a while now, and been run strictly as a national park. i tried driving in there last year, and was politely told "nah mate, i can se ya boards, no beach access allowed", "nah, we've already surfed today, just goin for a look"..."yeh, heard it all before, leave ya boards with me and pick em up when ya done sight seein"...we did just that, to call his bluff for next time.
while i try to care about the politics, and the shady deals done by old money with the right school tie, I just can't. what really bothers me is that it is a national park, and i should be allowed to park my car and go for a surf.
If the hot spring spa/eco resort has a nice big car park open to public, I'll be all for it
"i tried driving in there last year, and was politely told "nah mate, i can se ya boards, no beach access allowed", "nah, we've already surfed today, just goin for a look"..."yeh, heard it all before, leave ya boards with me and pick em up when ya done sight seein"...we did just that, to call his bluff for next time."
That's when you need a key because you are a "preferred' contractor woohcs haha
Brings back some memories. I surfed it once, came across in a boat with........Wayne Lynch!
The puppet masters win another round.
This would be the same bunch that announced an enormous and controversial infrastructure project (east-west link) midway through their term and then did everything they could to subvert due planning process/oversight in order to sign the contracts before the public had a chance to vote on it...
More evidence that they are not so interested in opening up their views to democratic process.
Does surfrider australia hold any formal position regarding this development?
I know i shouldn't be surprised, but private development, in a national park? I still don't know how that works ?
Yeah . I don't think the surf has anything to do with it . Although buzz not rescuing
gumbies that might walk straight from their car into a maelstrom . ( there's been enough in boats over the years ). Not to mention Harry's .
One thing is for sure , that this type of " nothing " development opens the floodgates to precedent for places elsewhere in the state that every Victorian should be ready to bleed for ..... Best everyone , no matter if affected by this or not .... Send a message to the pollies that it's not on .
What next , private cabins on remote unmarked , forest fringed beaches ....... .?!
To the "point" literally- we where the first to surf Point Nepean and that is what it was called - The Point so as to fool who ever where it was. We could drive straight thru the army gates but not when they where firing live ammo- 4 of us out in pristine tubes then Prime minister Holt drowned and our pass cancelled- then came hiding from the army, crashing thru under growth, helicopters,guns fired ,bullets zinging, surfing sand boiling barrels and then run the gauntlet back 2 miles- quite often caught to wear the corporals spit- police ambush and marched out,bare feet on bitumen road, cursing soldiers and feeling bloody fantastic.
Then came the boats- from the "other" side and then came the attitude - piss off this is our point they cried, angry faces, aggression in a paddling snaking frenzy. Gone was the pristine serenity of this beautifull part of the world we enjoyed.
The new development will try and harness these qualities for all to enjoy- it is confined to a very small area well away from " The Point". - where all the hissing and snarling is- maybe these boats from the west could spend some time sharing in a massage or yoga session and mellow before they hit the surf.
What is it with boat people any way? - arrive abuse conquer and claim.
Yes the westerners from the other side outnumber us by about 10 to 1 and super agro and competitive. Not uncommon to see 80 guys plus out there when it is on. I skateboarded in there last year and dodged the rangers and the zoo train (got to time it). Yes the army were heavy back in the day but the rangers were worse. Years ago when I refused to hand over my board (they used to confiscate them back in the 80's) they got really heavy so I ran into the water and paddled. They followed me along the road and kept running through the scrub to the beach to see where I was at. Luckily the tide was with me so I got back to Portsea front beach safe and sound.
Classic story!
Matthew Guy is a cnut, and a very corrupt one at that. Look at his track record at Spring Creek in Torquay, Ventnor on Phillip Island and Port Fairy. What a joke.
You're right on the money there twoplusone.
And there were were a few more cosy deals done last minute - giving away our land assets to Liberal party donors. There are plenty of public servants sickened by this but with an FOI request taking 45 days the facts wont get out before the election - just as planned by the cnuts.
As expected the Victorian Liberal Govt got rolled and Labor is in power. So what does that mean for Point Nepean?
Environment spokeswoman Lisa Neville said Labor would try to disallow the lease where possible, but added that little information about the lease process had been released.
Watch this space.
Good point Stu and given one of the front runners for the Libs leadership is the sneaky little sucker that approved this shame job a very good question. Didn't stop all the blue bloods down Portsea way voting for the Libs on the weekend - 57.2% of vote went to Libs with a 6.6 % swing to ALP