Tuesday, 16 August 2022

Dingley golf course development

Mr RICH-PHILLIPS (South Eastern Metropolitan) (20:04): (2055) I wish to raise a matter for the attention of the Minister for Planning in the other place related to the redevelopment of the Kingswood golf course. This matter is complicated by the fact that the Minister for Planning has recused herself from it because of a conflict of interest with her brother; I understand that the Minister for Environment and Climate Action will be acting in her place on this matter. But it relates to the applications before government to rezone the Kingswood golf course site to allow for the development of 823 houses on that golf course site.

This is a rezoning which is strongly opposed by the local community. More than 8000 objections have been lodged. The plans in their various iterations have been rejected by Kingston council on three occasions. The member for Isaacs—the federal Attorney-General, Mr Dreyfus—opposes it. Mr Pakula in the other place opposes it. The Liberal candidate for Clarinda, Anthony Richardson, has worked very closely with the community in Dingley and with the Save Kingswood Golf Course group to oppose this plan. The Liberal-National coalition has announced that if it is successful in forming government in November, it will oppose the rezoning of this site. But what we have had from the government is silence. We know that the planning panel report has gone to the Minister for Planning. It went to the former minister, Mr Wynne, some time ago, and the government has sat on the decision. Whether it is Minister Blandthorn or, as we understand, Minister D’Ambrosio acting in her place, the community need to know what is happening.

The action I seek is for the acting minister or the interim minister on this matter to make a decision and announce that decision. The only conclusion the community can draw if the government fails to announce this decision is that they intend to hold off and announce the planning rezoning after the election, if they win, and that means the only course of action available to the community in Dingley is to elect a non-Labor member of Parliament, because anything other than that risks having this rezoning dropped on their doorstep after the election in the event that Labor is re-elected. So I call on the acting Minister for Planning, Ms D’Ambrosio, to come clean on this decision and let the community in Dingley know where they stand.