(Below is an email I received on 3 March 2017, David Robinson) 

Hi there,

My name is Jenny Port and I am trying to get changes made to the Victorian Planning Scheme in relation to the protection of solar panels. I am seeking signatures on a petition which will be presented to Victorian State Parliament by Greg Barber, leader of the Victorian Greens. This petition has the support of the Greens at State level and the support of the City of Yarra Council. This is a state legislative matter.

There is currently no protection of solar panels in the Victorian State Planning Scheme. We want to see legislation that forces a developer to consider the impacts of new buildings when it comes to overshadowing. This is not a petition to halt development, just to force a consideration of the impact on neighbours who have invested in solar panels.

I don’t have a lot of foot-power at the moment, and so I am looking for help. I am sending this Protect-solar-panels-Petition.pdf to as many Victorian based sustainability groups as I can think of. Can you help by printing it out and getting some signatures and then returning it to me by March 17th?

As you probably know, there are strict guidelines regarding petitions for Victoria State Parliament.

Only Victorians can sign the petition and the Victoria State Parliament will only accept “original’ petitions (not photocopies or digital). Signatures must be written in ink, and only from Victorians.

So I need to have returned to me the actual physical signed pages (or perhaps I can collect depending on where you are)

These are stiff rules considering the current interest in on-line petitions! Anyway, if you could spread the word and the forms that would be fantastic.

The physical signed petitions should be returned to me by March 17th. The petition will be presented on March 21-23. I apologise for the short time period.

Return signed petitions by March 17th to:

post to, or drop into the letterbox at,
69 Victoria Parade, Collingwood, 3066
(near the corner of Cambridge St and a few doors east of the Baden Powell Hotel)

or

drop off at the Australian Tapestry Workshop, 262-266 Park Street, South Melbourne.

or I can attempt to link up to collect, but my preference right now is for them to be posted or delivered to me due to the quantity I am sending out.

thanks so much for your help. Many hands make light work and all of that!

Jenny
Jenny Port
protect solar victoria
M: 0409332799
E: protectsolarvictoria@gmail.com