- Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed Planning Scheme Amendment VC313, recently gazetted by the Victorian Government, which strengthens state planning policy for extractive industry and gives greater recognition to Strategic Extractive Resource Areas (SERAs) and Extractive Industry Interest Areas (EIIAs).
- The amendment is intended to provide greater certainty for the extraction and supply of earth resources, with the Victorian Government linking resource security directly to housing supply and infrastructure delivery.
- CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff welcomed the changes but stressed that Victoria must now accelerate the identification and designation of additional SERAs to meet the state's growing housing and infrastructure demands.
- Unlike other industries, quarries cannot relocate and can only operate where resources naturally occur, making early identification and protection of deposits critical before incompatible development restricts access to them.
- CCAA is calling on the Victorian Government to build on VC313 by progressing additional SERAs across Victoria, warning that failure to act risks viable resources becoming constrained and construction materials being transported over greater distances, increasing costs and emissions.
Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia (CCAA) has welcomed stronger recognition of Victoria’s critical quarry resources in the state’s planning system, while calling on the Victorian Government to accelerate the identification and designation of additional Strategic Extractive Resource Areas (SERAs).
Planning Scheme Amendment VC313, recently gazetted by the Victorian Government, strengthens state planning policy for extractive industry and gives greater recognition to both SERAs and Extractive Industry Interest Areas (EIIAs).
EIIAs identify areas with potentially valuable supplies of stone, sand and clay, helping ensure these resources are considered in land-use planning. SERAs provide stronger planning protection for resources identified as strategically important to Victoria’s future supply, helping safeguard their long-term availability and manage incompatible development.
The Government’s Explanatory Report says the changes are intended to provide greater certainty for the extraction and supply of earth resources and implement the Government’s “Secure future supply” priority.
CCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael Kilgariff said the changes were welcome, but Victoria now needed to build on the reform by progressing additional SERAs.
“Strengthening the planning framework is an important step, but Victoria also needs to ensure enough strategically important quarry resources are actually identified and protected for the future,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“Victoria’s population is growing, its housing task is enormous and billions of dollars of infrastructure will need to be delivered in the decades ahead.
“All of that construction depends on locally available sand, stone and gravel.
“Unlike many other industries, a quarry cannot simply relocate to another industrial precinct. These resources can only be extracted where they naturally occur, which makes identifying and protecting suitable deposits before incompatible development surrounds them absolutely critical.”
VC313 strengthens the role of EIIAs in the planning framework, explicitly recognising them alongside SERAs and clarifying their role in facilitating extractive industry in appropriate areas.
The Government says the amendment will provide economic benefits by strengthening planning support for the establishment and expansion of extractive industry in SERAs and EIIAs, helping secure resources closer to demand and reduce transport costs and emissions.
Mr Kilgariff said the policy changes strengthened the case for moving more prospective resource areas through the SERA process.
“The Government has rightly recognised that securing extractive resources is integral to delivering Victoria’s housing and infrastructure ambitions,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“The next step is to translate that principle into action by identifying and progressing additional Strategic Extractive Resource Areas across Victoria.
“Protecting strategically important resources today gives industry greater certainty to invest and helps ensure future generations have access to affordable construction materials close to where they are needed.
“The alternative is allowing viable resources to become constrained by incompatible development and transporting increasingly scarce materials over greater distances, adding cost, truck movements and emissions to every tonne delivered.”
The Government’s own assessment of VC313 links resource security directly with housing supply, stating that sand, rock and gravel are necessary to achieve Victoria’s housing targets and deliver public infrastructure. It also says the amendment safeguards the long-term availability of state-significant extractive resources used in housing and infrastructure construction.
CCAA is calling for the Victorian Government to continue implementation of its extractive resources reforms by accelerating work to identify and designate additional SERAs, particularly in locations capable of supporting Victoria’s future growth.
“VC313 provides a stronger policy foundation,” Mr Kilgariff said.
“Now we need to make sure Victoria has the strategically protected resources to go with it.”
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About CCAA
CCAA is the voice of Australia’s heavy construction materials industry, an industry that contributes $20.7 billion to GDP and supports 112,970 jobs nationwide. CCAA members produce most of Australia's cement, concrete and aggregates, which are essential to the nation’s building and construction sectors.
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Contact: Mitch Itter, Manager Communications | 0431 542 660 | [email protected]
