Victorian governement accused of 'anti-democratic' behaviours amid housing developments

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Victorian state government has been accused of "anti-democratic" behaviour after details of a proposal to block neighbours from objecting to housing developments were leaked to the media.

Transcript

00:00Almost a year after setting an ambitious target of 800,000 homes over a decade, the government

00:08is worried too many development proposals are ending up here, bogged down in significant

00:13delays.

00:14Sometimes it takes longer for a planning permit application to go through the process than

00:19it actually does to construct a new development.

00:23After leaks in the age, the planning minister today called a last minute press conference,

00:27admitting residents' VCAT appeal rights could soon be quashed for development proposals

00:32that meet certain residential housing standards.

00:35Where the standard is met, then there are no third party appeal rights.

00:42Sonia Kilkenny says there'll be no changes to building height limits and the proposals

00:47aren't set in stone.

00:49No decision has been made yet.

00:52But the question of whether neighbourhood character requirements could be ditched from

00:55planning considerations today saw accusations that beloved suburbs could be defaced.

01:01So the worst type of development can now be built in any street.

01:07We as a community really need to have that conversation about what we might be prepared

01:13to perhaps give up or sacrifice to make sure that future generations have access to housing.

01:20Under the housing statement, the minister already has the power to take decision making

01:24control for certain large housing proposals.

01:27Her decision earlier this week to approve a contentious 84 unit development here at

01:31this former school campus in Brighton was just the latest example of the government

01:36approving houses in the face of community opposition.

01:39It's all about how do we get more good quality homes built more quickly for Victorian families.

01:46It's anti-democratic.

01:47The government aims to have proposed changes in place by the end of the year.

01:54For more UN videos visit www.un.org

Category

Transcript

Recommended