Thursday, 24 July, 2025
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Fausto draws Fausto, a local self-taught artist, draws from a mental library of pop culture, personal experiences, and storytelling to guide his creative process. For the City of Casey’s Winter Arts Festival, he painted three large vases under the theme “cosy” at the Cranbourne West Community Hub, inspired by the longnosed potoroo, a native Australian marsupial that can be found in the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens. His magical, story-driven work emphasises cultural identity and community inclusion, engaging children in the process. Stroy Page 14
Illustrator Muralist Fausto in the process of crafting some new art. (Gary Sissons: 490512)
Wedge watchdog A new community group, Western Port Green Wedge Protection Group (WPGWPG), was formed in March this year to oppose “inappropriate developments” in the Western Port Green Wedge. The group aims to protect the area from further destruction and fragmentation by challenging legislation and opposing unsuitable developments, in response to a growing number of planning applications for “discretionary urban uses” across the area. Over the past few years, the local community
has seen a few planning applications for temples and accompanying religious events at their green wedge doorsteps, including multimillion-dollar Hindu temples in Pearcedale and Cranbourne South. Group leader David Cole said there were many applications submitted for developments and land uses that are not in line with Green Wedge policy, with places of worship being only one category. “The number of applications for places of worship, in particular, is increasing at an alarming
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rate,” he said. “Many of these are very large, in both the number of patrons they attract and the number of acres they occupy. “Many acres of land zoned as Green Wedge are being targeted by religious organisations,” he said. WPGWPG argues such developments threaten the green wedge’s environmental, agricultural, and rural character due to infrastructure limitations and wildlife impact.
Mr Cole highlighted that new suburbs often lack designated areas for religious facilities, pushing developers to target green wedge zones. The group supports a parliamentary recommendation to remove discretionary urban uses by 2027 and stresses the need for legislative reform to ease the burden on local communities as residents currently fundraise and use personal resources to contest applications. Story Page 3
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