Member for Morwell, Russell Northe has today raised in Parliament community concerns over the future of Hazelwood Pondage.
Mr Northe quizzed the Minister for Resources on what the future holds for the Pondage now that Hazelwood Power Station has closed.
“Unfortunately the Ministers response in Parliament today provided absolutely no answers as to whether the State Government intends to keep the Pondage open or not” said Mr Northe.
“The Government continues to spruik the fishing and recreational benefits of the pondage, but it also knows that future work plans include the possible decommissioning and emptying of the Pondage as early as 2021”said Mr Northe.
“The Minister needs to come clean and give our local community and user groups such as the Latrobe Valley Yacht Club a guarantee on whether Hazelwood Pondage will remain open for future use” Mr Northe said
Unfortunately the Government allowed Hazelwood Power Station to close without a whimper and now we are seeing further impact with Hazelwood Pondage most likely to close which will be a bitter blow for locals, tourists and visitors to this popular destination.
Mr Northe also highlighted to the Parliament “that the former Coalition government had committed $1 million to undertake significant upgrades to assets and infrastructure at Hazelwood Pondage yet none of the proposed works have taken place.”
Mr Northe questioned the Minister on whether this same $1 million would be spent to allow the Hazelwood Pondage user groups and members to remain onsite at the Pondage or transition to another site.
“User groups such as Latrobe Valley Yacht Club I’m sure would gladly welcome the improvement of amenities and facilities for the future use by all.” Mr Northe said.
The Yacht Club does some amazing work including operating programs such as “Sailablity” which supports persons with a disability to sail, and its important programs like this are not lost to our community.
“It’s simply not good enough that the Government is leaving many user groups of the Pondage in limbo and the Minister should provide urgent answers now.” Said Mr Northe
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