Across north western Victoria, massive critical minerals developments threaten farming, landscapes, local economies and ground and water supplies.

There are five main projects currently planned. More than 42,000 hectares of farm land are currently under retention licences. There are also legacy issues from older projects, which have not been properly rehabilitated.

And in Gippsland, Gippsland Critical Minerals is developing the Fingerboards Project, which will have an enormous impact on an important food bowl of Victoria, right next to the Mitchell River.

Each of these projects are subject to an assessment and approvals process. However, local farming communities feel that the assessment system is broken, ignores their concerns and allows approval of destructive projects. And there has been no attempt by the regulator or the state government to understand the cumulative impacts of these projects combined across an important food production area.

I support the call for the state government to announce an immediate halt on any further assessment or approval of any aspect of critical minerals projects until there has been an independent and comprehensive analysis done of the cumulative impacts of these projects.

The damage caused by these projects may be permanent, meaning the loss of important farming country and huge impacts on farming communities for decades to come. Until there has been a full assessment I do not support any further development of critical minerals in the state.

https://www.melbournefoe.org.au/moratorium_on_critical_minerals