'A sorry tale indeed': Ombudsman calls for end to saga affecting owners of Ninety Mile Beach land
Date posted:
Guitar music begins to play.
An opening slide fades from black, with an image of Ninety Mile Beach in Victoria’s Gippsland on the left, and text appearing on the right:
“INVESTIGATION INTO WELLINGTON SHIRE COUNCIL’S HANDLING OF NINETY MILE BEACH SUBDIVISIONS”.
Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass begins her voiceover.
Glass: This is a sorry tale about a group of people who bought land on Gippsland’s Ninety Mile beach back in the 50s and 60s.
As the Ombudsman speaks, the opening slide fades to a montage of old news articles with the headlines:
“A NEW GOLD COAST IS BORN”
“WORLD’S UNIQUE NINETY MILE BEACH”
“SUPERB HIGHWAY PLANNING”.
The montage ends with an old photograph of a woman standing on the beach.
Glass: They bought the land on the promise of a development that was going to become Victoria’s Gold Coast, it was going to be a slice of paradise.
The photograph then fades to a mid-shot of the Ombudsman seated at a desk in an office. She is speaking directly to camera.
Glass: In fact, they were sold a pup, much of that land was unsuitable for development – was coastal dunes or flood prone, and for good, sound environmental reasons, should never be built on.
Glass: Last year I received 67 complaints about this matter.
A slide appears containing the text: “67COMPLAINTS”.
The slide fades back to the Ombudsman speaking directly to camera.
Glass: They were on two main themes:
- landowners complained that they were being charged rates and other charges by Wellington Shire Council for land that they couldn’t build on – and in some cases couldn’t even access,
- and people were also complaining that the Council was profiteering from its buy-back schemes.
A split screen appears, containing text in each half. On the left: “The charging of rates and other charges on land that can never be developed”, and on the right: “Allegations of profiteering by Wellington Shire Council from buy-back scheme”.
The screen fades back to the Ombudsman speaking directly to camera.
Glass: And I felt it was in the public interest for these matters to be looked at to see whether the Council was acting fairly and reasonably.
A slide appears containing an image of the Victorian Ombudsman’s 2019 report into this issue, titled: “Investigation into Wellington Shire Council’s handling of Ninety Mile Beach subdivisions”.
The image fades back to the Ombudsman speaking directly to camera.
Glass: Some of these complaints were in fact the result of confusion. In fact, there are two broad categories of land in the Ninety Mile Beach area:
- there is land that cannot ever be developed under any circumstances because it’s flood prone or in the coastal dunes
- but there’s also land that could be developed if smaller blocks are combined into a single larger block.
A slide appears containing a map of Ninety Mile Beach, with various colours indicating the different types of land along the Beach and a corresponding map legend. Text appears at the top left of the screen:
“Two broad types of land:
- Land that can be developed when joined
- Land that cannot be developed at all”.
Glass: We did examine very carefully the buy-back schemes that have taken place in the last couple of decades and there’s no evidence that the actions of the Council in those schemes was unreasonable.
A slide appears containing the text: “Findings”.
The slide fades back to the Ombudsman speaking directly to camera.
Glass: At the heart of many of these complaints is an issue we simply can’t fix.
A slide appears containing the text: “4 RECOMMENDATIONS”.
The slide fades back to the Ombudsman speaking directly to camera.
Glass: The original landowners understandably feel cheated, but we have to reflect that their experience sadly reflects a time before planning controls protected our natural environment. And it’s important to remember that the Council and the government of today can’t be held responsible for that original flawed transaction.
A slide appears containing an image of Ninety Mile Beach, with text of a quote from the Ombudsman:
“WHAT IS THE FAIR OUTCOME TO A SAGA THAT HAS ITS ROOTS IN PLANNING FAILURES MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS OLD?”
Glass: So what is the fair outcome to a saga that has its roots in planning failures more than 50 years old? But that’s not only fair to the landowners who have complained to me, it’s also fair to all of the ratepayers of Wellington Shire Council and indeed to the Victorian public.
The slide fades back to the Ombudsman speaking directly to camera.
Glass: What I’ve decided is that the Council’s decision to levy rates and charges on what is unusable land, while ultimately lawful, is in these unusual circumstances, not fair.
Glass: I have asked the Council to stop levying rates and other charges on land that can’t ever be developed, and to refund charges to those people who can provide evidence of payment.
Three slides appear consecutively, all with the heading of “RECOMMENDATIONS”. Each contains text of a recommendation made by the Ombudsman to Wellington Shire Council:
- Review rates and charges on undevelopable land and refund some rates and charges paid
- Help facilitate the sale of allotments that are able to be developed when combined
- Update website to better communicate relevant information to affected landowners.
Glass: But I’ve also recommended that ultimately the land that can’t be developed should be returned to public ownership for the benefit of all.
A fourth slide appears, also with the heading of “RECOMMENDATIONS”, containing a recommendation made by the Ombudsman to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning:
- Work with the Council to facilitate compulsory acquisition of privately-owned undevelopable land.
The slide fades back to the same slide seen at the opening of the video. The text now reads “READ THE REPORT: ombudsman.vic.gov.au/ninety-mile-beach-subdivisions”, with the Victorian Ombudsman logo below.
The screen fades to black and the music fades to silence. End.
Owners of land that cannot be built on along Gippsland’s Ninety Mile Beach should be refunded rates and waste charges, Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass has recommended.
It is one of a range of measures aimed at ending a 65-year-long saga, stretching back to the 1950s when a developer lured people, mostly migrants from Europe, to buy land promoted as a ‘slice of paradise on Victoria’s Gold Coast’.
Ms Glass said “people bought land in good faith but were in fact sold a pup.”
“Much of the land cannot be developed, at least in its present form. Some of it is beach dunes. Some of it is flood-prone,” Ms Glass said. “Successive environmental studies confirm what should have been seen at the outset, that it should never have been sold off in the first place.”
Tabling her Investigation into Wellington Shire Council’s handling of Ninety Mile Beach subdivisions in the Victorian Parliament today, Ms Glass said she wanted to help bring this “unsatisfactory state of affairs to an end.”
She decided to investigate after receiving 67 complaints from original landowners or their relatives, who had raised concerns about Wellington Shire Council’s handling of subdivision matters. In particular, Ms Glass investigated whether the council had acted fairly and reasonably in:
- levying rates and waste charges against the land
- acquiring land from landowners at no or little cost and planning to sell it on the open market.
Rates and waste charges
Ms Glass said while it was lawful for the council to levy rates and charges against the land, “it was ultimately unfair”.
“What is the fair outcome to a saga that has its roots in planning failures more than fifty years old? And that is fair not only to the owners of unusable land but to the other ratepayers of Wellington Shire Council and indeed the Victorian public?
“In my view the Ninety Mile Beach subdivisions that cannot ever be developed should not be subject to rates and charges - but ultimately, should be returned to public ownership for the benefit of all.”
She recommended that Wellington Shire Council:
- stop asking owners of undevelopable land in the subdivisions to pay rates and charges
- refund rates paid on all undevelopable land since rate notices were re-introduced for Flood-prone land in 2006, upon request and where evidence of payment is provided
- refund Waste Infrastructure Charges paid on all undevelopable land in the subdivisions since 2011, upon request and where evidence of payment is provided.
The rates paid by the landowners over the years reflected the low value of the land (ranging from 53 cents - $5.30 per single lot in 2019).
The Waste Infrastructure Charge is applied as a flat rate to all land and increased by 120 per cent over 13 years to be $55 in 2019-20.
Acquiring land and planning to sell it on the open market
Some of the complaints to the Ombudsman raised concerns about the council’s 2018 decision to sell four restructured blocks of land in the Golden Beach area. The complaints queried how the council could sell land that had been relinquished on the basis it could not be built on, and whether the council would be profiteering from the sale of land it had obtained at low cost.
Through her investigation, Ms Glass has clarified that the land being sold by the council is in a section where blocks can be developed if four individual lots are combined to form one larger block.
“It appears that some complainants have confused the acquisition of land that could not be developed, with land that could be developed if combined with other lots,” Ms Glass said. “In fact the council was not profiteering from its buy-back scheme as alleged. The council’s acquisition and proposed sale of land generally followed appropriate processes and was not unreasonable.”
Ombudsman’s recommendations
In addition to her recommendation regarding rates and charges, Ms Glass made three other recommendations, including:
- A program of compulsory acquisition of privately-owned undevelopable land in the Ninety Mile Beach subdivisions once the voluntary land transfer schemes conclude in 2021.
- In relation to lots that could be developed if combined, the council should work actively with landowners to facilitate sales between landowners, without itself buying land.
- The council expand information available via its website about the subdivisions.
Ms Glass said at the heart of many of the complaints was an issue she could not fix – the original flawed land sales process.
“The original landowners understandably feel cheated, and their experience sadly reflects the era before planning controls protected our natural environment. But my investigation cannot overturn that original flawed transaction, for which the government or council of today cannot be held responsible.”
Read the report here: Investigation into Wellington Shire Council's handling of Ninety Mile Beach subdivisions.
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