Lakes Gnotuk and Bullenmerri Receive
Protected Status

Report from local activist Fiona Morris
15th March 2005



At last it looks as if the crater lakes Gnotuk and Bullen Merri will have permanent protection from development. All land inside the craters and for 100m beyond the rims is now designated an Environmental Rural Zone and is covered by both Significant Landscape and Environmental Significance Overlays.

Many members will be aware that a long and often disheartening struggle has been going on in Victoria's Western District where a small but dogged local group has fought with a reluctant and procrastinating Corangamite Shire Council who managed to drag out the planning process for more than five years and through three major reviews, during which time six new houses and as many roads have been permitted well inside the crater of Lake Gnotuk. No sooner was the stringent Planning Amendment adopted than the council had its first test case - for a two-storey house inside the protected area. The council denied the permit, after an alarmingly close vote, and the denial was upheld this month by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT)

Most striking throughout has been the incredible effort of geologists and other scientists who wrote letters, prepared submissions, spoke to the media and made presentations to reviews. As the Ministerial Panel Report wrote: "Very seldom will a Panel be presented with what amounts to a unanimous assessment across a wide range of scientific disciplines...that a site is of high, or indeed global, scientific significance."

The intense scientific interest surprised local people, most of whom were unaware of any value of the lakes other than recreational, and it is vital that we continue to raise public awareness.

We hope that any members of LAVA who are visiting the area or who are aware of any research involving the lakes will let us know so that we can welcome them and arrange for coverage in the local press.

Fiona Morris | Crater Lakes Coalition