South Gippsland Coastal Strategy

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Consultation has concluded

Thank you for your feedback. Consultation is now closed. Stay tuned for more opportunities to have your say.



Our coast is a beautiful natural asset - highly valued by our local community and the many visitors it attracts. However, it is facing a range of pressures and it's clear we need to take proactive steps to prepare our coastal communities for the future.

To start the conversation with our community, we have prepared a Discussion Paper that provides information about some of the challenges and how we might respond. We're keen to know if you think we have captured the important issues and if there is anything else that you think we need to consider when we prepare the Draft Coastal Strategy.

The Discussion Paper puts forward 15 potential actions for consideration, which have been summarised here. They have been grouped into the following themes:

  • Environment and Landscape.
  • Population Pressures and Development.
  • Development Infrastructure and Management.
  • Community and Economy.

We know how important this conversation is to have with our community, so we are offering multiple ways to have your say:

  • Pop-ups - see details of the first two under 'Events' on the right.
  • Discussion Forums, starting with the one below.
  • Ideas Board, click on 'Ideas' below.
  • Written Submissions, click on 'Survey' below.
  • Online information session, register here.
  • Survey, click on 'Survey' below.

Thank you for your feedback. Consultation is now closed. Stay tuned for more opportunities to have your say.



Our coast is a beautiful natural asset - highly valued by our local community and the many visitors it attracts. However, it is facing a range of pressures and it's clear we need to take proactive steps to prepare our coastal communities for the future.

To start the conversation with our community, we have prepared a Discussion Paper that provides information about some of the challenges and how we might respond. We're keen to know if you think we have captured the important issues and if there is anything else that you think we need to consider when we prepare the Draft Coastal Strategy.

The Discussion Paper puts forward 15 potential actions for consideration, which have been summarised here. They have been grouped into the following themes:

  • Environment and Landscape.
  • Population Pressures and Development.
  • Development Infrastructure and Management.
  • Community and Economy.

We know how important this conversation is to have with our community, so we are offering multiple ways to have your say:

  • Pop-ups - see details of the first two under 'Events' on the right.
  • Discussion Forums, starting with the one below.
  • Ideas Board, click on 'Ideas' below.
  • Written Submissions, click on 'Survey' below.
  • Online information session, register here.
  • Survey, click on 'Survey' below.
Discussions: All (8) Open (0)
  • Discussion Forum

    over 1 year ago
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    Discuss and debate some of the key challenges our coast will face.

    To get you started, consider the following question and click 'Go to Discussion' to talk about it: What do you think are the key elements a coastal strategy should address?

    New questions, ideas or topics can be added by anyone.

    Note: Please keep the discussion polite and constructive. Any comments that are deemed threatening, harmful, or not related to the coast will be removed by the moderators.

  • Bores and Septic Tanks

    by Lyn, over 1 year ago
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    As part of one of the development of infrastructure actions, it is to resolve issues of Waste treatments (Septic Tanks) and bores. I would like to know a little bit more about what these issues are and how this could affect my health. 

  • Outfall south of Venus Bay

    by Lyn, over 1 year ago
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    No mention of this, that I could see in the Coastal Strategy or does it fall into one of the General Actions, and I may have missed it…. Any thoughts on changes that may occur to the discharge of waste water from this Outfall?

  • Protection of coastal views

    by Tim Le Roy, over 1 year ago
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    Our shire has some of the most spectacular coastal vistas, most of which are unspoiled by development. The Cape Liptrap coastal park is the closest remnant wilderness to Melbourne. Venus and Waratah Bays’ offer spectacular views of the Prom and the uninterrupted horizon of Bass Strait. The intrusion of the 52 turbines at Tarwin Lower, standing 136m tall, plus the associated 32km of power lines, creates a visual, industrialised blight on our coastline that can be seen from multiple locations across our shire.

    Our coast is a valuable asset that creates jobs for many by attracting construction of homes, local tourism and a variety of other activities. People love living here and enjoying the wonderful rural and ocean vistas. The potential to place hundreds of >300m tall turbines 10km off our shire coastline will impact the views and biodiversity of the region for generations, whilst providing few demonstrated economic benefits. (The Bald Hills wind farm has never delivered the touted local jobs but delivered millions to urban and overseas investors.)
    I encourage the shire to negotiate with the state and federal proponents of offshore turbines to ensure turbines are sited a significant distance, >30km from our coastline.


  • Town expansion and boundrys

    by Kym Holness, about 1 year ago
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    After visiting the pop up shire booth on Australia day at the long table in Tarwin Lower i was involves in a conversation about the building of more than one dwelling per block and future subdivisions in the area. We (The shire representative and myself) we of the same opinion that Venus Bay is at capacity of blocks and due to their block size they could not be subdivided.

    Tarwin Lower on the other hand which in my view is a total different ball game in that it needs more blocks for people to build on so that they can stay in THEIR area and not as he had suggested move to the larger towns like Wonthaggi and Leongatha. I have lived here for 36 years and my family a lot longer going on for 50 years and when the time comes to downsize from my 6,000 sq mtr property i would like something smaller to buy or maybe split my block at least into two so it wouldn't be so much to look after.

    Yes bring on more blocks in Tarwin Lower so those ageing people that want to to come off their farms and retire in our well catered for town can do so and not not have to move to the likes of Gatha or Wonthaggi.

    Kym Holness

  • Venus Bay Beach carpark.

    by Rhiannon Schutz , about 1 year ago
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    In the hight of summer, the beach car park is not adequate for the amount of people, I'm not talking about beach one which is massive but 2,3,4 and 5 are all way to small, especially as more and more blocks are being developed, there are more permanent residents than ever before. 

  • Sea wall management

    by wendy whelan, about 1 year ago
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    Sea wall
    Who is currently responsible for looking after them? They used to have local farmers running the management groups but now the shire is responsible I believe. I recently purchased land bordering corner inlet but receive no correspondence about the sea wall maintenance or if anyone inspects it. 

  • South Gippsland Coastal Strategy

    by Jo, about 1 year ago
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    Thanks for the great work in developing the Coastal discussion paper. you have done a good job. I support strongly the plan to restrict coastal townships to their existing boundaries.

    I would like to see a height limit of 2 stories in coastal towns, as in keeping with existing homes, with one horrible exception at Walkerville.

    please continue to think about how to improve native vegetation and linkages between private property and crown land to allow our precious wildlife to move when they need to, especially koalas have to be able to move to the Strezlecki hills. the changing climate will drive many animals to change where they live and they have to have bush cover to do that safely.

    I support strongly the local plan in Venus Bay to rewind the wetlands, which should not be farmed, and should be returned to their original state in order to manage storm surges and rising tides and floods.

    my neighbour was forced by CFA to cut down 5 magnificent Messmates which were close to the bush, when he applied to subdivide into 1 acre blocks. they were important habitat trees and also provided protection from strong winds. I continue to miss their environmental services.