To the Honourable Speaker and Members of the House of Representatives assembled in Parliament of Australia.

Rising sea level must restrict new home construction on Lonsdale Lakes

This Petition of certain electors of the Division of Corangamite draws to the attention of the House that under the provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, an Environmental Effects Statement assessing the potential impact of global warming and rising sea levels on any proposed residential development across the Lonsdale Lakes corridor wetland, which connects coastal wetlands of international, national and state significance at Point Lonsdale in Victoria, requires the approval of the the Minister for Environment and Heritage.

The low lying coastal land and waterways of Lonsdale Lakes are already subject to flooding from overland flows and the risk and extent of flooding will be made worse due to rising sea level.

Global warming will cause sea levels to continue rising long into the future, ultimately exceeding predictions for the remainder of this century.

Knowingly allowing the release of land titles for the construction of homes, which will ultimately be compromised by an increasing incidence of flooding cannot be tolerated by any government.

Your petitioners request the House to ensure that any proposal to release land for the construction of people’s homes on the most vulnerable coastal lands such as Lonsdale Lakes, which are already subject to flooding from overland flows, be rejected and declared unsuitable for housing given that no amount of engineering works can promise protection against the relentless rise in sea level.