Mount Alexander Greens are saying NO to McDonald’s in Castlemaine and are asking you to join our campaign to keep highly addictive junk food away from our kids and out of our communities.
A McDonald’s is planned for Castlemaine, and many residents are uniting in the fight against this fast-food giant setting up in our regional town.
We are calling for our local and State governments to do everything they can to halt the proposed McDonald’s in Castlemaine.
We're also calling for new planning rules that put community health first, and empower councils to make decisions in the best interest of their communities. These include mandatory distances from schools and caps on the density of fast-food outlets in our neighbourhoods.
Other towns have found that despite heavy local resistance and council rejections, VCAT and the state government often approve McDonald’s developments. Why?
Jeff Kennett’s Liberal government created VCAT back in the 1990s. McDonald's lobbied for and received amendments and definitions that favoured their business model.
The Greens have advocated in Parliament for the exact solution our community is crying out for: changing the Planning Act to require local councils to consider public health and food security when assessing planning permits.
The recent introduction of a new health objective into state planning policy is a good start. But it will remain a hollow promise unless we take legislative action to give it real effect.
We need to move away from the current "blind" system that VCAT members admit cannot consider human health or local culture.
We need to support councils to create healthier built environments.
Add your name to the campaign, and together, we can fight to have public health considered in the approvals of McDonald’s and other fast-food giants.