PARKLANDS CODE

The public parks, gardens, bushland and open spaces of Melbourne are central to the cultural, recreational and sporting traditions of our city.

They belong to the community.

These parklands are vital assets and adequate resources must be devoted to maintaining them. They provide the essential balance against the environmental impact of continuing urban growth.

There must be legal safeguards against commercial interests and state and local government projects that threaten them. Any proposals that would alter existing forms of recreational use or diminish or degrade parklands must be subject to full and open community consultation and objective assessment.

Positive environmental and social outcomes must be demonstrated before any changes are made. There must be an undertaking that any open spaces lost are replaced with areas comparable in size and quality.

Melbourne has inherited a world class system of open spaces of which it has long been proud.

Our public parks, gardens, bushland and open spaces must be preserved.

The Parklands Code was adopted and published by the more than forty organisations in October 1995 as a simple, sensible set of criteria which allows the reasonable use of parks without destroying their unique values. It was agreed that all political parties should be asked to endorse the Code and incorporate its principles into their political platforms. It was also agreed that the Code needs to be accompanied by documentation that outlines the legal, financial and management elements which needs to be applied in its implementation. The Parkland Principles, which form part of the "Planning Charter for Victoria", aims to fulfil these requirements.