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Promotion of the highest environmental standards

Action, innovation and leadership are needed not talk!

The City of Port Phillip has a community, which is amongst the most creative, progressive and passionate in Australia.

For our community, environmental and sustainability issues are of great importance.

unChain Port Phillip firmly believes the Port Phillip Council should provide strong leadership on these important issues, both in terms of policy and action.

Whilst some policy initiatives of the current Council warrant commendation, there is much scope for enhanced policy vision. Further and importantly, there is a pressing need for Council to ACT not just talk.

It is easy to make ambitious policy claims, but effective implementation is another thing entirely. unChain Port Phillip’s practically skilled and politically non-aligned candidates have the ability to make things happen. Our Action Plan has been created accordingly.

Climate Change is real and upon us now

To fulfil the City of Port Phillip's climate change commitments much more must be done. These commitments, which are supported by unChain Port Phillip, are to:

  • achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions and a 70% reduction in potable water use from council operations by 2020 and
  • help residents and businesses reduce their per capita green house gas emissions by 50%from 2006 levels and water use by 50% from 2001 levels by 2020

Disappointingly, the current Council has ignored these commitments in many of its recent major projects. For example:

New Council offices

It is a matter of shame that recently the Council has, at a cost of approximately $20 million, built an architecturally uninspiring office extension to the St Kilda Town Hall with complete disregard for sustainability. Not only does the outcome conflict with Council policy but the community has been saddled with an inefficient building, which will be costly to run and significantly contribute to the Council’s carbon footprint.

Council’s failure to include sustainability objectives in design has resulted in the building failing to meet accepted green building standards (Green Star & NABERS Energy ratings) despite these standards being routinely met by most major office developments including many built or proposed in Port Phillip.

By contrast, around the same time the City of Melbourne showed environmental leadership and vision by building the innovative CH2 Building for its staff, with exactly the same use as the Port Phillip Council’s office extension in Carlisle Street. The Swanston Street building set a new standard in green building and was awarded a 6 star Green Star rating, a first for Australia. The CH2 building is expected to use only 13% of the energy used in the original Council house, and CO2 emissions are expected to be 60% less than that scored by a top rating 5 star building. Other Councils including Hume and Darebin have also completed new Green municipal offices.

St Kilda Triangle

Despite the enormous commercial scale of the proposed triangle development, the fact it is being carried out on Council controlled crown land and the extremely prominent nature of the development, the Council failed to insist upon an integrated approach to sustainability to ensure that greenhouse emissions from the development would be minimised. Instead, the development includes only some token features such as a green wall, which, in any case, is unsuited to the seaside location.

When challenged about the lack of cutting edge sustainability standards, current Councillors claimed that such standards were not required in 2005 when the project went to tender. We do not accept this flawed rationale for a major project with a completion date sometime in 2011 or later. unChain Port Phillip will ensure our City leads on sustainable development not follows.

unChain Pt Phillip will ensure that:
  • the Council leads by example;
  • future projects are built to the highest and latest environmental standards;
  • all current Council facilities and projects are audited to determine whether environmental performance can be cost effectively improved;
  • street and outdoor lighting is converted to low emission lighting and
  • a rational Carbon Management Plan is developed for Council facilities so the 2020 zero emissions target can be met at least cost by:
    • reducing energy consumption as a priority;
    • implementing energy efficiency actions without delay;
    • monitoring and regularly reporting outcomes to the community; and
    • purchasing Greenpower and other accredited Carbon Credits to meet stated emissions benchmarks

We have the tools to make a difference

Town Planning

The Council must do considerably more if it is to achieve its environmental commitments to the community. It should make use of its planning powers and the tools available under planning legislation to promote sustainable design and the integration of renewable energy systems into the design of new buildings.

unChain Port Phillip will push for the implementation of a range of planning incentives to encourage new and modified buildings to adopt sustainable design principles. Incentives to be considered include reduced planning permit fees, rate rebates and expedited planning approval timeframes for green buildings.

Conversely, consideration will be given to providing disincentives such as increased permit fees for development applications that substantially ignore Council’s sustainable design targets.

Under unChain Port Phillip’s stewardship the Council will use a “carrot and stick” approach to achieve real results and to position Port Phillip as Australia’s Greenest municipality.

Council Vehicle emissions

unChain Port Phillip will review Council’s vehicle fleet for opportunities to reduce Greenhouse emissions.

This will include a review of:
  • Work practices;
  • Council vehicle purchasing policies;
  • Car pooling opportunities for staff and contractors; and
  • Car and bicycle share schemes.

Contractors will be required to adopt the same measures for their vehicles as those applying to the Council operated fleet.

Bulk purchasing

unChain Port Phillip will work to establish an effective bulk Green purchasing program to allow residents to have access at reduced cost to green systems such as solar hot water and electricity systems, water tanks and grey water recycling systems.

EcoCentre

unChain Port Phillip fully supports the work of the EcoCentre and its staff and will ensure that its funding is retained or if possible increased.

Waste and recycling

Much can be done to improve the rates of recycling by residents and businesses.

Initiatives may include the:
  • Proactive education to encourage awareness;
  • Improvement of collection procedures including establishing effective electronic waste recycling; and
  • Auditing and advice to high waste generators such as businesses and apartment blocks.

Parks, gardens and beaches – they nurture our soul

Parks and gardens

Being the most densely populated municipally in Victoria, our parks and gardens are immensely important. The physical, emotional and visual benefits they provide to residents and visitors alike has been seriously underrated and misunderstood by the current Council.

Parks have been neglected and precious and ever diminishing open space sold off or leased for commercial use.

UnChain Pt Phillip will elevate the priority within Council of maintaining and improving our parks and gardens and will not allow our open space to be lost to development and commercial activity.

Examples of Council neglect, abuse and mismanagement abound including:

Albert Park – Skate park and urban plaza

The Council has ruthlessly pursued the construction of a massive concrete skate park in the wrong place – in Albert Park fronting Fitzroy St, at the gateway to St Kilda. The proposed structure, in parkland, comprises over 1000 sq m of concrete and is designed not as a local skate park but one intended to attract users from across Melbourne. The Council continues to pursue this despite the Supreme Court rejecting the planning permit issued by the Council (to itself!)and considerable opposition from over 300 residents and the St Kilda Park Primary School, the St Kilda Sports Club, the Parks Community Association, UnChain St Kilda, EarthCare St Kilda, the Port Phillip EcoCentre, Save Albert Park, The St Kilda Historical society, Cricket Victoria, the Fitzroy Street Traders Association, the Australian Institute of Management and many local businesses.

The Council’s mismanagement of this project has disadvantaged skaters (who are still waiting for a skate park), ignored the wishes of the community and wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars of ratepayers’ money in legal battles.

unChain Port Phillip supports the construction of a skate park in an appropriate location such as the foreshore and will ensure that this corner of Albert Park is protected, revegetated and made available as parkland for use by the community and school.

O’Donnell Gardens – Summer Market

The Thursday night summer craft and clothing market returns to the lawns of O’Donnell Gardens. In 2005 our current Councillors signed off on the officers’ recommendation to support, what is essentially, a retail activity on public parkland, accepting that “ minor damage to lawn . . . should not impede an event considered to have other greater social economic and cultural benefits”.

Our Councillors failed to recommend alternative sites, such as the numerous open-air concrete car parks in the vicinity, that would have satisfied the ‘greater economic and cultural (?) benefits’ of a market without damaging lawns, already ravaged by drought.

UnChain Port Phillip maintains that it is the duty of Councillors to approach such and future proposals, in the first instance, as the guardians of our City’s parklands and open spaces, and to argue against retail activity as an appropriate use of these parklands.

The Grand Prix

The Formula One Grand Prix is currently held in Albert Park. Our parks and gardens are vital and, in principle, our largest park is not the appropriate site for the Grand Prix. Given the support for the Grand Prix by the State Government, the powers of the local Council are limited. Nevertheless it is important to identify concerns of the local community and work to resolve them. The Grand Prix has a significant immediate impact on local residents, schools and traders. There is disruption for some months to park users, especially with respect to community sporting facilities. There is also a significant financial cost to the Victorian taxpayer. unChain Port Phillip will advocate for a commercial rent to be paid by the Grand Prix Corporation, for improved remediation measures for the Park and its sporting facilities, for subsidies to clubs and park users and for measures to protect local businesses. Overall unChain Port Phillip will strive to ensure that the requirements of the Grand Prix do not swamp the legitimate interests of other users of this precious open space.

Tree planting

unChain Port Phillip Councillors will prioritise tree planting and street landscaping after years of neglect.

unChain Port Phillip will investigate the viability of a scheme which allows residents, on a twice yearly basis, to receive at no cost or at a heavily reduced cost, a range of native trees and shrubs for planting in their homes or in community facilities

A priority list of areas in each ward which require landscaping will be immediately compiled and relevant programs put into effect. This is likely to include landscaping and tree planting to beautify St Kilda Rd each side of , and including, St Kilda Junction.

Heritage

unChain Port Phillip is conscious of the importance of protecting our heritage for future generations to enjoy as much as we and others before us have done. This includes buildings such as the Palais or our heritage churches and gardens such as the St Kilda Botanical Gardens and Catani Gardens.

Beaches

Our beaches form part of the heart of Port Phillip and provide a recreation and leisure destination for large numbers of residents and visitors. Maintaining our beaches is a major task, which needs improvement. It also involves a cost burden, which falls excessively on local ratepayers.

unChain Port Phillip will seek to improve beach cleaning efforts and will ensure that events like the 2007 New Years Eve celebrations on St Kilda’s beach are better managed and cleaned up promptly with costs borne by those profiting from the event not ratepayers.

The health of our beaches is influenced significantly by some factors beyond the immediate control of Council (eg the water quality of the Bay, the promotion of Pt Phillip as a leisure area for all Melburnians etc.)The muted opposition and often compliance of the current Council to State Government policies and actions that are adverse to the interests of local residents and ratepayers has led to the City of Port Philip being taken for granted by the State Government.

As the only non-politically aligned group contesting this election, unChain Port Phillip will independently and vigorously represent the interests of residents and other ratepayers when dealing with the State Government in relation to these and other issues.

unChain Port Phillip supports full and open access to our beaches and will overturn Council’s decision to charge fees to personal trainers and fitness instructors who use our beaches.

Water – our life blood

Despite the obvious and serious issues confronting us all in relation to water use, the current Council has failed to update the Water Management Local Action Plan released in January 2005 which relates to water supply to Council and community facilities. unChain Port Phillip will ensure that a clear sustainable water management strategy is developed which takes into account current predictions of the impact of climate change which includes:

  • analysing water consumption from existing facilities;
  • identifying opportunities for water conservation, stormwater harvesting and localised waste water treatment as an alternative to mains water supply; and
  • prioritising water supply to ovals and other community facilities that give the greatest community benefit.
  • explore an incentive or rebate scheme to encourage owners’ corporations to convert flats and units to individual water meters, as a way of motivating occupiers (whether owners or tenants) to take responsibility for reducing their water consumption.

Transport – pursuit of alternatives

Improving alternative transportation options for residents will be an unChain Port Phillip priority.

Public Transport

Work with the transport service providers and the State Government to improve the frequency of services to Port Phillip particularly during peak hour and also peak entertainment times. We would ensure that a development the size of the Triangle would not be approved without a firm commitment to provide additional trams and buses to the area.

Bike scheme

Proactively work with neighbouring municipalities including the City of Melbourne and industry to investigate the viability of a shared bike scheme similar to that operating in Paris and other European cities.

Bike Paths

Work with the State Government to improve bike lanes within the municipality including the linkages for the proposed changes to Fitzroy St bike lanes.

Bike racks

Require the provision of bike racks in all new commercial developments and apartment buildings and will investigate the shortfalls in secure bike racks at transport hubs in the municipality.

Car sharing

Create and promote a web portal for residents to facilitate car sharing and car-pooling.

Walking

Improve infrastructure support for this most environmentally friendly and healthy form of transport. We will work to improve the pedestrian experience and develop strategies to get more people walking. Essential to this are footpath repairs and improved road crossings, including pram ramps, better lighting and cleaner streets, easier access to trams, buses and trains, safer and cleaner shelters and better placed street furniture.