Fingerboards Mineral Sands Project Inquiry and Advisory Committee

The Minister for Planning has appointed a joint Inquiry and Advisory Committee, known as the Fingerboards Mineral Sands Project Inquiry and Advisory Committee (IAC) to consider and advise on the Environment Effects Statement (EES), EPA Works Approval Application (WAA), the draft Planning Scheme Amendment (PSA) affecting the East Gippsland Planning Scheme prepared for the Fingerboards Mineral Sands Project.

Terms of Reference

The work and scope of the IAC is guided by the Terms of Reference that were issued by the Minister for Planning on 19 July 2020.

View the Terms of Reference (PDF, 1.2 MB) or (DOCX, 997.4 KB)

Members

The IAC comprises of the following members.

  • Nick Wimbush (Chair)
  • Natasha Reifschneider (Deputy Chair)
  • Meredith Gibbs
  • John Ginivan

Learn more about the members by reading their biographies PDF  (PDF, 135.7 KB)or DOC (DOC, 84.5 KB).

Progress

Exhibition period and submissions

The EES for the Fingerboards Mineral Sands project, together with the draft Planning Scheme Amendment to the East Gippsland planning scheme and Works Approval Application was publicly exhibited for a period of 40 business days, from Thursday 3 September and 5.00pm on Thursday 29 October 2020.

You can view the submissions received on Engage Victoria.

Directions Hearing

The Directions Hearing was conducted by video conference using Zoom at 10.00am on Monday 14 December 2020.

A recording of the Directions Hearing is available on YouTube.

The purpose of the Directions Hearing was to:

  • consider any preliminary or procedural issues and give directions about the conduct of the Hearing including the exchange of any expert witness reports
  • make arrangements for the Hearing, including the Timetable and Hearing venue
  • answer any questions people may have about the Hearing.

Second Directions Hearing

The second Directions Hearing was conducted by video conference using Zoom at 10.00am on Monday 15 February 2021.

An audio recording of the second Directions Hearing is available on Youtube.

The purpose of the second Directions Hearing was to set out a new timeframe for the Hearing to commence and to discuss other matters (see tabled document 105).

Third Directions Hearing

The third Directions Hearing was conducted by video conference using Zoom on Wednesday 31 March 2021.

An audio recording of the third Directions Hearing is available on Youtube.

The purpose of the third Directions Hearing was to finalise any outstanding arrangements leading up to the hearing. The Directions Hearing covered, amongst other things:

  • reconfirmation of dates and consideration of outstanding material
  • timetable considerations
  • final hearing arrangements
  • additional site inspections.

Public Hearing

The Public Hearing commenced on Monday 3 May 2021 and ran across ten weeks to Thursday 22 July 2021.

The Public Hearing was to give people an opportunity to speak in support of their written submission. The Public Hearing was open for anyone to watch.

The hearing was a hybrid between videoconference using the Zoom videoconference platform and limited in-person submitter attendance in Bairnsdale (under Covid restrictions).

All documents tabled with the IAC during the hearing are available on the Engage Victoria web page.

Audio recordings from the Hearing are available on the Engage Victoria web page.

Report

The Inquiry and Advisory Committee was given a two week extension and provided their report in accordance with the Terms of Reference to the Minister for Planning on 30 September 2021.

The Minister’s Assessment on the environmental effects of the Project is now complete. The Minister’s Assessment and Inquiry and Advisory Committee report can be found in the 'Documents' tab.

 More information

If you have any questions or need further information, get in touch via the contact details below.

Inquiry and Advisory Committee Process and making a submission
Planning Panels Victoria
✉ Email: Fingerboards.IAC@delwp.vic.gov.au
☎ Phone: 136 186

Ministers Assessment and EES Process
Impact Assessment Unit, DELWP
☎ Phone: (03) 8392 5503
✉ Email: environment.assessment@delwp.vic.gov.au

Proposed Fingerboards Mineral Sands Project:
Kalbar Operations Pty Ltd
☎ Phone: 1800 791 396
✉ Email: contactus@fingerboardsproject.com.au

EPA Works Approval
EPA Victoria
☎ Phone: 1300 372 842
✉ Email: works.approvals@epa.vic.gov.au
View the EPA website for further information.

Page last updated: 26/11/21