Key Facts:
- Grassland quality continues to decline with ongoing negative impacts on endangered wildlife, despite the Melbourne Strategic Assessment's conservation goals.
- Only 25% of the planned 15,000 ha Western Grassland Reserve has been acquired, with no progress on the 1,200 ha Grassy Eucalypt Woodland purchase.
- Poor compliance with federal and state nature laws, including instances of illegal waste dumping and inadequate weed control enforcement.
- DEECA has failed to fully implement recommendations from the 2022 Audit and has not acquired required additional land for protecting specific endangered wildlife.
- Some positive developments include increased Traditional Owner involvement and successful Council programs, though progress remains inconsistent and too slow.
The Audit of the Melbourne Strategic Assessment, which was set up to protect grasslands, finds poor compliance with nature laws, declining conservation quality and insufficient acquisition of land.
'This 2024 Audit confirms many critically endangered and priceless grassy habitats promised for conservation as part of the 2010 Melbourne Strategic Assessment are still in decline,' says Dr Adrian Marshall, VNPA's Facilitator of the Grassy Plains Network.
'Many of the conclusions in our own People's Audit of the 36 MSA Conservations Reserves are reflected in the current 2024 Audit,' he says.
The Strategic Audit of the Implementation of Melbourne Strategic Assessment Conservation Outcomes Report is the only official public reporting on one of the most important grassland and grassy woodland conservation programs in Victoria.
Key findings of the 2024 Audit are:
- Ongoing decline in grassland quality and impacts to endangered plants and animals.
- Failure to enforce compliance with federal and state nature laws.
- Slow progress on land acquisition.
- DEECA is still not fully implementing recommendations from the previous 2022 Audit.
Poor progress reflects government failure to see the vital importance of protecting our nationally significant grasslands, grassy woodlands and the endangered plants and animals they are home to.
'In the western and northern edges of Melbourne good patches of environment that could have benefited the whole community are cleared for developer profit, while weeds swamp supposedly protected grasslands and grassy woodlands,' says Dr Marshall.
The Audit highlights a failure to uphold nature laws. Illegal dumping of waste is increasing. In one instance, an entire Conservation Area was buried under asbestos-contaminated fill.
DEECA is failing to force landholders to comply with their legal obligations to control weeds.
It is also failing to ensure that developers that have legally committed to protecting Conservation Areas are effectively managing that land. In some cases, DEECA claims the land is 'secured' despite no evidence that the conservation values to be protected are actually secure.
'The Victorian Government is failing to uphold the laws that protect our priceless environment, and the Federal Government is missing in action even though the whole program was endorsed by them in 2010,' says Dr Marshall.
'It is clear that there is no justice for these grasslands and their precious inhabitants. Instead, developers continue to illegally destroy supposedly protected conservation land and laugh at a risk-adverse government too afraid to take them to court.'
The Audit emphasises that only a quarter of the promised 15,000 ha Western Grassland Reserve has been purchased, and none of the promised 1200 ha Grassy Eucalypt Woodland.
DEECA has also failed to acquire any of the additional land outside the urban growth boundary that it is legally required to for Matted Flax-lily (529 ha), Golden Sun Moth (680 ha) and Spiny Rice-flower (394 ha).
'We need upfront purchase of all the Western Grassland Reserve land, the Conservation Areas and the Grassy Eucalypt Woodland Reserve,' says Dr Marshall.
'It is common knowledge that unpurchased land is almost guaranteed to lose its conservation values and wildlife such as the Striped Legless Lizard, Golden Sun Moth and Matted Flax-lily all need additional land. Upfront purchase should be a no-brainer.'
'There are some positives,' he says. 'Traditional Owners are increasingly involved and some Council programs have been successful but there is just not enough or consistent. Some indicators are stable and even improving but are too slow.'
