Wednesday, 17 May 2023

Local government planning

Michael O’BRIEN (Malvern) (09:47:467:): One of the many things I love about my Malvern electorate is the beauty of its streetscapes. This is a love shared by my constituents, who make suburbs like Malvern, Malvern East, Armadale, Glen Iris, Toorak and Kooyong home. We choose to live in these amazing communities because amenity matters, heritage matters and parks matter. This is why planning laws matter as well. So it is with a sense of dread that I read in the Age of 19 April 2023 an article headed ‘State government weighs new powers to jam in 1 million more homes’. It states:

Local councils could be cut from decision-making on major development projects under a bold plan being considered by the Andrews government to help squeeze an extra million homes into Melbourne’s suburbs by 2050.

Labor did not go to the last election promising to jam an extra million homes into our established suburbs. Labor has no mandate to bypass local government on local planning decisions. Councils are far from perfect, but they are closer to local residents than any state Labor government bureaucrat ever will be. When it comes to planning decisions, councils can be streamlined but they should never be sidelined. I will fight to protect the amenity of my community and the right of my local residents to have their voices heard about planning decisions that affect their homes, their streets and their community.