The state government will consider using powers available under the Heritage Act to prevent further delays to the decommissioning of the Hazelwood Power Station.
State Planning Minister Richard Wynne’s announcement was prompted by Heritage Victoria’s recommendation on Friday that the plant not be included on the Victorian Heritage Register.
The recommendation will now be advertised and community members given 60 days to make a submission before the Heritage Council of Victoria makes a final decision.
In September last year, Latrobe Valley heritage advocate Cheryl Wragg applied for a whole stage of the station, including the turbine halls and chimneys, to be listed on the Heritage Register.
On Friday, plant owner ENGIE released a statement acknowledging the decision and explaining that the decommissioning of Hazelwood would be completed by the end of the month.
“The Hazelwood Power Station equipment and site has been regularly upgraded and the technologies used at the place are also evident at other power stations,” the statement said.
Places or objects can be listed to the register if they meet one of the eight criteria, which include importance to the state’s cultural history, possessing rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of cultural history or demonstrating a high degree of creative or technical achievement in a particular period.
In his report, Heritage Victoria executive director Steven Avery met some criteria for heritage listing, but failed to meet the majority.
The report found Hazelwood had a clear association with the Latrobe Valley as a power producing region but that all power stations in the region have the same association and demonstrate ongoing improvements in power generating technology.
“The Hazelwood Power Station does not allow the association with electricity generation, or with the planned development of the Latrobe Valley as an industrial region for power generation to be understood better than any other power stations with substantially the same association,” the report said.
“The Hazelwood Power Station equipment and site has been regularly upgraded and the technologies used at the place are also evident at other power stations.”
In a statement, Planning Minister Richard Wynne said Hazelwood workers and the Latrobe Valley community had been through a lot and would consider using his powers to “call in” the project during the consultation period.
If the planning minister uses his powers, he would then seek a report from the Heritage Council before making a final decision about whether it should be added to the register.
Earlier this year, Ms Wragg was successful in having the former Morwell Power Station and briquette factory added to the Heritage Register and hopes to see an industrial heritage trail created in the region.
On Friday, she expressed her disappointment with Heritage Victoria’s recommendation.
“Our industrial heritage is extremely important not only to the Latrobe Valley but the state of Victoria yet there is not framework or strategy to consider our industrial heritage outside of the a demolition context,” Ms Wragg said.
“We’re just not moving out of a crisis situation to a more strategic approach to managing that industrial heritage and this recommendation is indicative of that.
“These efforts to try and conserve some of the Latrobe Valley’s industrial heritage are not driven by sentimentality so much as … to provide a future for our economy and jobs and attract new industries and services into this region and it’s a pity that the Victorian government is not supporting that.”
