Member for Mallee Anne Webster has called on Victorian Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny to extend the deadline for submissions for the Environmental Effects Statement (EES[1]) process for the Goschen Mineral Sands project near Lalbert.

The current deadline is January 17 2024 but Dr Webster said this timeline would be difficult for many landholders and has asked the Minister to extend the deadline to February 16.

“On Monday I met with dozens of landholders in Lalbert who were concerned about the timelines expected of them to make a submission on the EES,” Dr Webster said.

“I have asked the Minister to consider the timing around harvest and the complications that have arisen with the rain in late November – not to mention the Christmas break.

“The EES presents hundreds of pages of documents for farmers to comprehend and respond to. It would be within the spirit of the Christmas season to afford hard-working farmers some additional time so they can focus on their families, their harvest, businesses and respond to the EES in the New Year.”

Dr Webster met with the mine’s proponents, VHM, following the meeting to relay the concerns farmers had.

“I encouraged VHM to maintain an open discussion with the community to address their many concerns – this is crucial to any project gaining critical social licence,” Dr Webster said.

“I have made it clear to VHM however that agriculture should never play second fiddle to infrastructure or mining projects, and projects should not divide communities. We all want to see our regions prosper, but respectful dialogue is essential.”