The Victorian Government will pay $92 million over a land dispute. 

The state government has been hit with a $92 million compensation order after adding environmental protections to land owned by the Dennis family, prominent builders and developers. The family argued that the protections devalued their property. 

The ruling sets a precedent for future compensation claims related to the Western Grassland Reserve, with lawyers estimating the total bill could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The government and the family disagreed on the amount of compensation, but the court found the land would have been worth $101 million without the protections. 

Conservationists have criticised the slow land acquisition for the reserve and urge the government to expedite its protection. 

The reserve is intended to balance urban growth with the preservation of critically endangered grasslands.

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