Police threat over Lake Knox protest signs

The community is refusing to back down in its fight to save a beloved Knoxfield lake, despite threats of police action if more protest signs are erected.

Development Victoria has threatened to phone the police if people trespass again on the Lake Knox site.

A State Government body has threatened to phone the police if more protest signs are placed around a Knoxfield lake set to be turned into a wetland area.

A banner was recently erected near the body of water dubbed Lake Knox, which said “Lake Knox for Life”.

The lake is set to be decommissioned and turned into a wetland area under the State Government’s plans to develop the former Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning (DELWP) site at the corner of Burwood Highway and Scoresby Rd, Knoxfield.

In a letter sent to Knox Environment Society, seen by Knox Leader, Development Victoria said a banner belonging to the group had been installed without permission with the person responsible causing damage upon entry and exit to the site.

The letter said the sign had been pinned onto star pickets which were then driven into the bank of the dam wall.

The Lake Knox banner.

“These acts constitute a trespass,” the letter said.

“The trespass has created serious safety risks to those individuals involved in the act due to their proximity to the dam, and that if anyone were to fall in there is a very real risk of them drowning.”

Development Victoria asked the group to take all necessary steps to ensure that it wouldn’t happen again.

“Development Victoria will not tolerate any further trespass and reserves all its rights to take further action, including notifying the police, should any other instance occur.

“Development Victoria advises that, in a show of good faith, it is understood that this incident has been carried out by a rogue few and as such we still intend to involve the Knox Environment Society in the project and … Wetland Working Group.”

MORE: HUNTER LOBBYING TO SAVE KNOX LAKE FROM WETLAND PLAN

KNOXFIELD SITE COULD BE HOME TO ANOTHER HIGH-RISE

FRIENDS OF LAKE KNOX SANCTUARY RALLY TO PROTECT IT

Knox Environment Society president Richard Faragher said he had no idea who had hung the banner up.

Mr Faragher said the society had made up about 10 save Lake Knox signs to be used at different events.

The community is rallying to save Lake Knox, which is set to be decommissioned by the State Government. Darren Wallace, Jude Dwight, Anthony Bigelow, Mark Glazebrook, David Leiper, Melissa Allen and Richard Faragher at the site. Picture: Ellen Smith

He said he had let all members know about the warning from Development Victoria, but could not control the actions of individuals.

He said the group was passionate about saving the lake, and feared for the survival of the blue-billed duck if the lake was removed.

Friends of Lake Knox Sanctuary leader Mark Glazebrook said the community would continue to fight to save the lake.

“Our view is it’s not over until the lake is removed,” Mr Glazebrook said.

“You can’t replace the ecosystem that exists there at the moment.”

Development Victoria group head of property Neil Anderson previously told Leader it had met with community and environment groups and was developing plans to create a new and expanded wetland that could be used by locals and provide a sustainable habitat for wildlife.

Mr Anderson said the dam at the northern end of the site was built decades ago, was fenced off to prevent community access and was unsafe.

He said after community consultation in 2018, the site was rezoned to a Comprehensive Development Zone, enabling new homes and services to be provided.

He said more community engagement was anticipated to take place later this year.

WHY LAKE KNOX SHOULD BE PROTECTED

Written by Mark Glazebrook, Friends of Lake Knox Sanctuary

Heard of Lake Knox? No? You could be excused as it’s a well-kept secret that’s been fenced off for decades from public view not far from the corner of Burwood Highway and Scoresby Rd.

So loved is this tranquil body of water that the local Knox community has adopted it and is seeking to protect it being bulldozed by the State Government.

We need to do this because the rare birds such as the endangered blue-billed duck and trees that rely on the lake as an ecosystem don’t have a voice. Also every year, it welcomes visitors, black swans in May, wedge-tailed eagles in August and every parrot you could imagine throughout Spring.

The blue-billed duck calls the lake home.

The fight to protect it has been going on for several years and now we are at the pointy end where soon the diesel engines will fire up and Lake Knox will be no more.

Development Victoria, the government agency charged with the redevelopment of the site have consistently advised the community in consultations that there is only one option on the table — to remove that Lake and all its inhabitants and replace it with a shallow series of wetlands. Why? Because they deem it to be unsafe and unfixable.

This perplexes me. Isn’t this the government that builds mammoth train overpasses and CBD underground stations, removes countless level crossings and is even carving out a huge tunnel under Port Phillip?

But clearly a lake and small one at that, is beyond their abilities.

I know that this sounds bizarre. That something so unique could just vanish. With so much loss of natural areas and the growing threat of climate change, I thought the State Government, and a Labor government at that, would be a champion of protecting something so rare among the encroaching urban sprawl and congestion of Melbourne.

But sadly not.

The fight goes on. Natural areas deserve our support because they support us with clean air, habitat for all living creatures and an alternative to shopping malls.