A battle between the needs of nature and the needs of humans is heating up in Victoria, with a tiny rediscovered creature long thought to be extinct delaying the building of more than 300,000 homes.
The rediscovery of the Victorian grassland earless dragon in June 2023 has meant houses that were set to be built between Sunbury and Geelong may cost a lot more or possibly not be built at all.
Developers say their costs, including property taxes, are piling up and are likely to lead to higher prices amid delays involving both the state and federal governments.
Mark Whinfield of Newland Developers, who oversees an affected site in Northern Geelong, said the builder has already spent $1million and this would have to be passed on to homebuyers.
‘This has delayed the project by two years. We don’t see construction starting until 2028,’ he told the Herald Sun. ‘It’s a long journey.’
Garry Peterson, Zoos Victoria’s general manager of threatened species, sees it differently, though, saying the landholders would have been affected by conservation plans before the dragon was detected.
‘They were certainly earmarking conserving some of that for certain environmental assets that are on the site before the lizard was rediscovered,’ he told the ABC.
‘And we’re working with them around how we can best conserve the entire site for the lizard, but also ensure they are remunerated accordingly.’
A battle between the needs of nature and the needs of humans is heating up in Victoria, with a rediscovered lizard (pictured) long thought to be extinct delaying the building of more than 300,000 homes
The rediscovery of the Victorian grassland earless dragon has meant houses that were set to be built between Sunbury and Geelong may cost a lot more or possibly not be built at all (stock image)
In a letter to the Property Council of Australia, a spokesperson for federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said a decision on the matter was ‘being finalised’.
The Victorian grassland earless dragons are a matter of national significance, so ‘any action that has, will have, or is likely to have a significant impact on the species must be referred to the Australian government and undergo an environmental assessment and approval process,’ the spokesperson said.
The Property Council Australia’s Victorian head Cath Evans was not happy and said the response was four months late and ‘failed to provide any certainty’ for the developers.
‘In the middle of a housing supply crisis, Victoria cannot afford to have tens of thousands of potential new homes caught up in green tape,’ she said.
Ms Evans called on both state and federal Labor governments to help the landholders with some ‘swift decision making’.
‘While the industry supports the protection of vulnerable species like the Victorian grassland earless dragon, a better balance is required,’ she said.
The rediscovery of the lizard, which has last been seen in 1969, has heaped pressure on the Victorian state government under Premier Jacinta Allen, which has vowed to build 800,000 homes in Victoria over the coming decade.
But the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows slumps in both building approvals and completions.
Zoos Victoria is training a team of sniffer dogs to detect the dragons, and two dogs, Daisy and Kip, have already found some.
Zoos Victoria is training a team of sniffer dogs to detect the Victorian grassland earless dragons (pictured)
Because the creatures are still being found, Mr Peterson and Zoos Victoria want the site to remain untouched.
‘Ideally the continuing of the grazing regime is really important to maintain the structure of that grassland on that site — that’s what’s allowed the species to persist,’ he said.
But the hundreds of thousands of people hoping to have a home to call their own might see it differently.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted both Ms Plibersek and Ms Allen for comment.
