Melbourne left poorer by the destruction of a Critically Endangered grassland
Basalt Plains grassland west of Melbourne. Image: Libby Rumpf
Media Release
25 February 2025
The people of western Melbourne are being short-changed by the alleged unlawful destruction of 40 hectares of a Critically Endangered ecosystem that was earmarked for a future conservation and recreation reserve.
The irreplaceable area of western plains grassland in Mount Cottrell was earmarked to become part of the long-promised Western Grassland Reserve as part of the Melbourne Strategic Assessment (MSA) in 2010.
Only 1% of Melbourne’s Western Plains Grasslands remain, making the ecosystem Critically Endangered and putting many dependent species in jeopardy, such as the Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon and a variety of orchids.
A developer bulldozed 40 hectares of the rare grassland on a private property at Faulkners Road, Mount Cottrell, despite an environmental significance planning overlay and a raft of state and commonwealth government laws that were designed to protect it.
The land was also covered by a Public Acquisition Overlay to facilitate it being purchased by the government to form part of the Western Grassland Reserve.
The Biodiversity Council is calling for the developer to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and to be required to restore the grassland and to not allow the land to be developed, as anything less sends a signal that the law is optional.
The Victorian grassland earless dragon was recently rediscovered in remnant grassland west of Melbourne. Retaining enough grassland in good condition will be critical to its long-term survival. Image: Nick Clemann
Biodiversity Council Lead Councillor Professor Brendan Wintle from the University of Melbourne said that, “When developers ignore the law to turn a quick profit they are robbing from the natural heritage of all Australians. If they get away with a slap on the wrist, it sets a terrible precedent.
“This is a critically endangered ecosystem and home to some of Australia’s most fascinating and endangered animals and plants such as the recently rediscovered and critically endangered grasslands earless dragon. The loss of 40 hectares, 20 times the size of the MCG, is a huge blow”.
“This particular grassland was supposedly protected by the Victorian Government for inclusion in the Western Grassland Reserve under an agreement between the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments called the Melbourne Strategic Assessment.
“The agreement effectively acts as a bulk-approval for housing development under our national environment law that was meant to be “offset” by the creation of the grasslands reserve. The development approvals stand, but only 15% of the reserve has been delivered.
“This patch should’ve been purchased for inclusion in the grassland reserve 8 years ago. It’s a disgraceful breach of contract with the public and bad for nature. The Victorian government is not honouring its commitment to the agreement and the Australian government is not holding Victoria to account.
Biodiversity Council Lead Councillor Professor Sarah Bekessy from RMIT University said that, “This should be seen in the same light as the destruction of buildings like the Corkman Hotel in Melbourne or the Notre-Dam in Paris - though at least these can be re-built.
“Here we have a critically endangered ecosystem, filled with threatened species and steeped in cultural richness that we will likely lose in our lifetime.”
