FARMER LOSES LAND FIGHT
Government acquisition slammed as ‘bloody farce’
A FIFTH- GENERATION farming family has lost its battle to stop the government’s compulsory acquisition of their land, despite their warnings it would leave the 164year-old Waurn Ponds farm unviable.
Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne has slapped a public acquisition overlay on about 61ha of the Larcombe family’s 455ha Reservoir Road merino sheep farm, to make way for the $115m Waurn Ponds train maintenance and stabling facility project.
The overlay ensures the government will not be blocked from snapping up the land.
The family voiced their disappointment with the decision on Monday, revealing they’d been told to expect a notice of intent to acquire 11ha of land for stage one of the project in coming days.
Stan Larcombe, an 82-yearold farmer who owns the land with his brother Gordon, slammed the five-year process that led to the decision, accusing Mr Wynne of ignoring the recommendations of the independent panel that he appointed to consider the project.
“It’s a bloody farce really, the whole thing,” Mr Larcombe said. “He didn’t take any notice of what they recommended. That’s what we expected in a way, because what the government wants, the government gets.”
Mr Wynne appointed the Government Land Standing Advisory Committee in July 2019 to give its advice on the suitability of the planned acquisition, after taking submissions from all interested parties.
The Larcombes argued the “ruthless” acquisition would slice their farm in two, separating infrastructure from livestock, and received support from the City of Greater Geelong, Surf Coast Shire and local MP Bev McArthur.
The committee’s report to Mr Wynne concluded “the adverse impact on the ability to farm land south of the project is a planning issue independent of any compensation payable to the landowners in respect of that adverse impact”.
It recommended the minister add a condition to the project’s incorporated document that the environmental management framework included a “continuity of agricultural production plan” addressing “the need for farm infrastructure on land south of the railway line to secure its ongoing agricultural use”.
This condition has not been included in the minister's gazetted report.
In Mr Wynne’s documented reasons for exercising his powers to place the public acquisition overlay over the Larcombe land, he said the Larcombes’ views had been “considered” and claimed the project would “deliver net community benefit”.
“It will provide critically needed infrastructure, is supported in state policy and encourages and supports ongoing and increasing regional rail services to meet current and forecast demand,” he said.
“Whilst some localised amenity impacts may occur, I consider these have been appropriately mitigated and reduced in the preparation of the amendment.”
The train maintenance and stabling facility will pave the way for more regular services along the Geelong line, where demand for services more than doubled from 2015-2019.