A Western Victoria MP has jumped into the anti-lake lighting camp.
Western Victoria MP Joe McCracken has called on the state government to step in and stop the Lake Wendouree project as it currently stands.
The latest challenge to the installation of the 225 light poles around the Steve Moneghetti track asserts that Ballarat City Council cannot meet Australian Lighting Standards without breaching its Tree Protection Policy.
McCracken says the state government has a responsibility to halt the project and consider the environmental impact.
In conjunction with Heritage Victoria, McCracken wants Ministers Ingrid Stitt (Environment) and Climate Action (Lily D’Ambrosio) to ensure measurements are re-taken in Ballarat for the placement of lighting, and if it impacts the tree policy to revise the plan.
“My great hope is that we do have an intervention, hopefully from the state government, when they realise that this is such an important part of Ballarat and that we don’t want to see it ruined for future generations.
“So I’m going to be doing everything I can to contact (Minister Stitt and D’Ambrosio) and also Council to make sure…we don’t have to stop this project in its entirety. We just have to make sure that everyone in the community – and I understand that even local landholders adjacent to the lake weren’t consulted during the consultation process – talk to people, make sure that those who are impacted are correctly consulted, and we can proceed with a more appropriate, sensitive and sympathetic design which more people can agree on” McCracken said.
Ballarat City Council has continually confirmed that all environmental check and balances have been met.
Works to identify the location for each light began this week and the project is due for completion this year.
