Southern Loddon Mallee Regional Strategic Plan 1 - Macedon ...

While fewer than 1% of people in the region reported travelling
to work by public transport, the Bendigo rail line has experienced
rapid growth in passengers from 2005-2009, reflecting increasing
fuel prices and major upgrades to infrastructure and services by
the Victorian Government.
The Transport Connections Program currently being delivered
by Department of Planning and Community Development
(DPCD) in collaboration with local government aims to improve
access to larger population centres for people living in areas
with limited public transport. Community buses now run from
Axedale, Redesdale, Mia Mia, Daisy Hill, Talbot, Bealiba, Timor,
Carisbrook and Red Lion. The B-line project initiated by the City of
Greater Bendigo and Loddon Shire is trialling several bus services,
including Bendigo-Boort, Tarrnagulla-Inglewood and Tarrnagulla-
Maryborough.
A variety of other initiatives are currently underway to improve
accessibility to larger population centres and reduce reliance on
private transport.
Millions of passenger trips
4
3
2
1
0
2004-05
Bendigo rail line patronage
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Air services
While there are several airports and airfields, there are currently no
scheduled commercial passenger services currently operating from
our region. Our proximity to Melbourne has limited investment in
airport facilities and commercial passenger operations. A major
renewal of the Bendigo airport is proposed by the City of Greater
Bendigo, in order to continue use by emergency services and
explore opportunities for expansion of services. Coordinated
regional planning is required to prioritise investment in airport
infrastructure, accounting for the various uses and facilities
required at smaller airfields.
Water
Our urban and irrigation water supplies are supplemented by
water diverted from the Goulburn River system. Water supplies for
towns located south of the Great Dividing Range are drawn from
local catchments and Melbourne Water storages.
Considerable investment has recently been made to modernise
and upgrade ageing irrigation infrastructure in northern Victoria
to reduce water losses and ensure that northern Victorian irrigators
remain internationally competitive through NVIRP. Coliban
Water and Central Highlands Water, in partnership with the
Commonwealth and Victorian Governments, have also invested in
the construction of the Goldfields Superpipe which has capacity
to deliver up to 20 GL of water purchased from the Goulburn
system irrigators to Bendigo (and Ballarat) each year. Additional
investments in infrastructure to improve supply and/or quality of
water have also been made for Maryborough and some smaller
towns around Bendigo.
26 Southern Loddon Mallee Regional Strategic Plan
STRaTegIC DIReCTION 4
Given projected reductions in catchment inflows due to climate
change, increasing demand and service expectations from the
region’s growing population and economy, continued investment
is required to provide water for urban and industrial uses. With
new technologies and approaches to managing water such as the
water GRID, it is timely to review and renew long term water supply
and demand strategies with updated climate and population
information for all towns in our region. There are now many more
possibilities for growing our high value water industries.
Managing water quality, flows and levels in rivers, streams and
groundwater and water catchments, particularly in light of the dry
climate of the last decade, is critical to ensure that water resources
remain suitable for environmental and consumptive uses. The
upper and middle reaches of the Campaspe, Coliban and Loddon
Rivers are particularly important catchment areas and provide
water for our urban populations, our riverine and wetland habitats
and for dryland and irrigated agriculture.
Awareness of the need to provide appropriate water regimes to
wetlands and riverine environments has grown over the last two
decades. There is now a strong policy support for environmental
water provision, with environmental water recovery targets set for
both of our major river systems.
Introduction of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan’s new Sustainable
Diversion Limits may result in a substantial realignment in water
allocation between environmental and consumptive uses, which
will further increase competition in water markets and most likely
accelerate the current exit of irrigators from their industry in Pyramid-
Boort and other parts of the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District.
This would add to the economic and social challenge facing
irrigation communities in the Loddon Shire who will need to be
supported with upgrades of on-farm infrastructure and a more
strategic approach to environmental water buyback and water trade.
Energy
Regional electricity and gas transmission networks connect our
region to the national electricity grid and gas produced from
the Bass Strait fields. Bendigo, Castlemaine, Gisborne, Kyneton,
Maryborough and Woodend have access to natural gas.
An assessment of the renewable energy generation potential for
Victoria has shown that with the exception of the Loddon Shire,
our region has significantly less renewable energy potential than
northern and western areas of the state. However, significant
energy gains have been made through innovative efficiency
practices, waste energy projects, carbon offsets and sustainable
housing initiatives. Ongoing innovation to reduce the energy costs
and carbon footprint of our successful manufacturing sector has
resulted in the delivery of a number of notable ‘green’ projects
and a culture of continuous improvement in energy efficiency
and innovation. A strategic analysis of regional energy needs and
renewable energy options must be undertaken to inform business
cases for future infrastructure development and encourage further
innovation in efficient energy use.