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Davie said farming and tourism were both essential parts of Phillip Island’s identity and economy and needed to be protected.
“I’m confident they can co-exist and enhance each other.”
The council has not yet implemented the unlocking tourism strategy, and opponents hope it will be withdrawn before it can be enacted.
Tourism is a big part of the Phillip Island’s economy. Credit: Eddie Jim
At a council meeting this week, Bass Coast Shire councillor Tim O’Brien moved a motion requesting a report on the tourism strategy and how it would impact the region. The council will consider the report in November.
He said the tourism strategy was at odds with the state government’s decision to declare Bass Coast a distinctive area and landscape, which is designed to protect both unique character and the environment in significant parts of Victoria.
O’Brien hopes the report will result in the council scrapping the strategy.
“It poses risk, through encroachment, to some of our most treasured places, hinterland and shorelines,” he said. “No farmland is safe.”
O’Brien is also concerned that allowing big tourism developments on agricultural land could drive up the value of farms, which would raise their rates. He is also concerned the strategy could result in land banking.
The penguin parade is one of the big tourism drawcards at Phillip Island. Credit: Joe Armao
The council declined to comment on O’Brien’s motion. But officers’ comments in the meeting agenda said the tourism strategy was prepared as a land use study to investigate the reasons for limited or inappropriate investment in designated tourism areas of the Bass Coast Shire.
The council pointed to the strategy’s argument that farming and rural activity zones were inadequate for supporting tourism uses, and that large-scale developments would be best delivered in special use zones. However, its critics are also concerned about the recommendation to introduce a “market-driven policy” to help determine the location of tourism developments.
Although there are some existing special use zones on the island, more would be created if the strategy were adopted in its current form. The Phillip Island Motor Racing Track, Inverloch RACV and Silverwater Resort San Remo are all within existing special use zones.
The motorcycle track in Phillip Island is located in a special use zone. Credit: Getty Images
Tourism is core to the shire’s economy, and Phillip Island is among the most visited regions in Australia. Figures supplied by tourism advocacy group Destination Phillip Island showed total expenditure reached $875 million last year, which is a 2 per cent decline on 2023. Visitors spent a total of 2.86 million nights on the island in 2024 – a 10 per cent decrease on the year before.
Destination Phillip Island general manager Kim Storey said Phillip Island needed to encourage more visitors to stay overnight rather just making short day trips.
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“I think it’s about developing more boutique experiences and accommodation,” Storey said.
She said her group wanted to see appropriate development that respected Phillip Island’s natural character.
“The board is not interested in mass development on Phillip Island,” she said. “We would hope there are appropriate planning structures in place to ensure that.”
While the tourism strategy recommends considering rezoning some farmland for development, it also includes a recommendation to rezone rural activity zoned land for agriculture where tourism or other activities appear unlikely to occur.
Local conservationist Linda Cuttriss said the unlocking tourism strategy would allow medium- and large-scale tourism developments to spoil the rural landscape, which would destroy what makes the area so special in the first place.
“Phillip Island’s farmland is crucial to the island’s character and its magnificent scenic coastal landscapes,” she said.
Despite growing pressures on Phillip Island’s natural environment and farmland from development, Anne Davie insisted she is optimistic for the future and believes looming challenges can be overcome through strong community commitment.
Anne Davie is a leading environmental advocate in Phillip Island. Credit: Simon Schluter
“Our family regard it as a privilege to care for land in Millowl.”
But she believes the tourism strategy threatens more than Phillip Island’s agriculture sector. She said overdevelopment would damage her community’s wellbeing.
“We need the open space for our mental health as well as the visual experience,” she said. “How lucky we are if we can conserve what is precious.”
