Bass Coast Shire councillors are concerned a state government decision to merge two committees will lead to $500,000 being spent on the foreshore of Lang Lang – despite the council earmarking the funds for works in San Remo .

What happened: The Victorian government first merged the San Remo and Lang Lang foreshore committees in May, an act Bass Coast Shire Mayor Brett Tessari said was done “by stealth”. 

In the weeks that followed, councillors voted to write to the Victorian Minister for Environment, Jaclyn Symes, to explain.

Last week, councillors unanimously decided to write for a second time.

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Why merge anyway? Bass Coast Shire Council took over responsibility of maintaining the San Remo foreshore in 2010, but the merger of its committee with another at Lang Lang will be run by officers from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action of Victoria (DEECA).

The money question: Bass Coast Mayor Brett Tessari told the Monitor the council is concerned that $500,000 it had set aside for San Remo will “be taken by stealth and used at Lang Lang”.

🗣️ “We're not for a second denying that Lang Lang doesn't need some work done. But it should be separate funding. This was earmarked for San Remo.”

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Lang Lang not the enemy

Councillor Mat Morgan said at the meeting last week that coastal towns everywhere need emergency funding for erosion.

“These two management committees should’ve never been tacked-on to each other,” Morgan said. “There are coastal communities across Australia that are in desperate need of emergency funding to address climate change and coastal erosion.”

Councillor Jon Temby argued that both the Lang Lang and San Remo foreshores faced severe financial and environmental risks that required separate management committees and financial support.

Councillor Rochelle Halstead labelled the DEECA decision "an absolute disgrace," saying they had stripped a community committee of plans to spend the money locally.

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