By Luke Voogt
A move costing ratepayers “thousands of dollars” to clarify the use of a property where 36 cows were found dead in March has enraged a councillor and neighbours.
Surf Coast Shire Council recently lodged an application with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) regarding the Mount Dunned property, which hosted 450 to 650 cattle from January 2020, according to the document.
The shire initially deemed the land use at the property as “grazing animal production” meaning the operator of did not require a permit.
But in its recent application to VCAT the shire listed several “understandings” that under its own legislation indicate “intensive animal farming”, which requires a permit.
In the application council stated its understanding that the cattle were stock fed, with B-double trucks importing the feed and moving cattle on and off the property.
“The paddocks on the subject land are not rested and have no opportunity for meaningful grazing for 70 to 80 head of cattle on an eight-acre paddock,” council stated in the document.
The shire requested VCAT make a determination on the use of the land.
“It’s just nonsense, they’re delegating responsibility when it’s their own planning scheme,” said Ann Bullen, who lives on a neighbouring property.
“They’re the responsible authority and they’ve got all the evidence in front of them.”
“Instead they choose to waste thousands and thousands of dollars on legal advice [to take the matter to VCAT],” said Ms Bullen’s husband Rob.
Councillor Heather Wellington, who called for an independent review of the land use in July last year, said the shire had wasted significant ratepayers’ funds in allowing the matter to drag out for more than a year.
“They could have just said, as they do with many other planning issues, ‘this is intensive animal production and they need to put in a permit’,” she said.
Shire environment and development general manager Ransce Salan declined to detail which land use declaration council would argue for at the hearing, or the legal costs involved.
“As this is an active planning compliance matter before VCAT, council is not in a position to provide further comment and the resolution is best left to the tribunal to decide.”
