DACs

Posted 24/6/08

Some reactions to the State government's announcement it will remove planning powers from some metropolitan - and Geelong - councils.

Save Our Suburbs

SOS condemns State Government for removing Council Planning Powers 22/5/08

Matthew Guy, Shadow Minister for Planning

COMMUNITIES LOSE FROM LABOR’S PLANNING DECEPTION 21/5/08

LABOR MOVES TO ALLOW SUBURBAN HIGH RISE 21/5/08

GEELONG: ALL PLANNING POWERS WILL GO 27/5/08

LABOR’S NEW PLANNING REGIME – NO MONEY, NO TIMING, NO IDEA 29/5/08

SOS condemns State Govt for removing Council Planning Powers

MEDIA RELEASE 22.5.08

Removing Council planning powers - unnecessary, undemocratic and open to corruption!

Yesterday's announcement by Planning Minister Justin Madden to strip councils of planning power for major activity centre development again shows the State Government's contempt for the community.

It is yet another example of trying to make things easy for developers without regard to planning outcomes or the concerns of the whole community.

If the Planning Minister was really trying to streamline the planning process, he could simply make key planning guidelines mandatory (Rescode, Structure plans etc) which would vastly speed up the planning assessment process - any non-compliant applications would be rejected and the others would be easier to tick off. This would also greatly diminish the number of cases going to VCAT and provide what all parties want - greater certainty.

Instead, his plan to 'speed up' the granting of permits via "development assessment committees" (DACs) removes the rights of democratically-elected councils by establishing yet another unelected body not subject to review to make planning decisions.

The Government misleadingly implies that DAC decisions will still be appealable (the same as for a council decision) but under the proposed new residential zones for high-density ("go-go") areas, most existing rights of notice and review will be removed.

The problems presented by the DAC model are exacerbated by the lack of an Independent Commission Against Corruption in Victoria, with the very real risk of corruption in un-elected panels that would exercise discretion in assessing development applications without any public accountability.

And while the State Government is keen to blame planning problems on Councils, it hasn't even acknowledged - let alone addressed - its own poor performance in planning matters, as identified in the recent Auditor-Generals report and in the 'audit' of Melbourne 2030.

Ian Quick

President

Save Our Suburbs (Vic)

ph: 0422 479 540

COMMUNITIES LOSE FROM LABOR’S PLANNING DECEPTION

21/5/08

The decision to strip planning powers from local communities in five areas of activity across Melbourne and Geelong is a dishonest move from a tired and arrogant Brumby Government.

Despite promising at the 2006 election not to remove council planning powers, Labor has today broken its election guarantee and will establish Development Assessment Forums (DAFs) to manage planning decisions in the areas of activity of Geelong, Preston, Coburg, Doncaster and Camberwell.

“The forums will be formed by a majority of unelected, government-appointed mates who will be told to implement the failed Melbourne 2030 policy – a policy which communities right across Melbourne continue to reject,” said Shadow Planning Minister Matthew Guy.

“This is the government’s last effort to try and save the Melbourne 2030 policy from total failure. But it is coming at the expense of local communities and will result in the building of CBD and Docklands-style high rise developments in areas that may not be suitable.

“Labor gave a solemn promise in 2006 not to remove council planning powers. Clearly Labor’s word means nothing and clearly communities just can’t trust Premier Brumby to keep his word.

“This announcement is yet another sign that the state government is panicking about their mishandling of Victoria’s decade of strong population growth.

“Other states have managed their population growth in a sustainable and sensible fashion, but the Victorian Government has panicked on land supply, panicked on high rise and is now panicking on planning powers, in order to try to manage population growth.

“Building 10 and 12 storey buildings right across the city is not going to solve our population crisis.

“Melbourne needs an integrated strategy that focuses on coordinating our land supply and infrastructure requirements as well as working with councils to determine where urban consolidation can occur now and in the future,” said Mr Guy.

Further, Mr Guy said that today’s announcement yet again proved that the state government lacked any consistency on planning policy and the community was becoming fed up with the government forever changing ideas on what is and is not good planning for Melbourne.

“Labor said that urban sprawl was evil and then re-zoned 90,000 blocks of land for development. They said high rise was inappropriate and now they are trying to mandate four storey minimums. They said communities had a right to determine local planning and now they are removing the right of appeal. Planning policy in Victoria in now a total mess.

“Labor claims it is working for the good of communities but now it clearly views councils and communities as planning enemy number one when it comes to implementing the failed Melbourne 2030 policy.

“Local communities need to be brought on board, they need to be a part of the solution to our planning issues, not singled out and excluded when the problem is in fact Melbourne 2030,” Mr Guy said.

Media contact: Matthew Guy 0400 001 282
Matthew Guy MP | Shadow Minister for Planning | Member for Northern Metropolitan | 03 9457 5328 | 03 9455 2968 | 0400 001 282 | matthew.guy@parliament.vic.gov.au

LABOR MOVES TO ALLOW SUBURBAN HIGH RISE

21/5/08

The decision to strip planning powers from Boroondara, Manningham, Darebin, Moreland and the City of Greater Geelong is the first step towards the state government removing all council planning powers, Shadow Planning Minister Matthew Guy said.

The state government has announced that Development Assessment Committees (DACs) will be established to manage the planning decisions of the Camberwell, Doncaster, Preston, Coburg and Geelong activities areas, despite promising at the 2006 election not to reduce council planning powers.

“The government has advised that the new committees will be made up of five members, three of which will be unelected appointed representatives who will undoubtedly be mates of the state government,” said Mr Guy.

“The decision shows the state government’s true intention to remove all council planning powers and reduce local government’s role to collecting rubbish and fixing footpaths.

“Labor gave a solemn promise not to remove or reduce the planning powers of local government but it has now started the ball rolling on doing exactly that.

“A committee of unelected, ministerial-appointed mates is not the best way to manage planning in our suburban area. That is best done by communities.

“The state government was using local councils as the whipping boy for the failure of the Melbourne 2030 policy to be accepted by communities, ignoring the fact that it is simply bad policy.

“The failure of Melbourne 2030 is not the fault of councils or communities, it is the fault of the state government’s bad policy. It contained inaccurate population figures, it treated every suburb’s urban character as the same and it was implemented with very little consultation – no wonder it has failed,” said Mr Guy.

Further Mr Guy said this announcement was yet another sign that the state government was panicking about their mishandling of Victoria’s decade of strong population growth.

“Building 10 and 12 storey buildings right across the city is not going to solve our population crisis,” Mr Guy said.

“Melbourne needs an integrated strategy that focuses on coordinating our land supply and infrastructure requirements and includes working with councils to determine where urban consolidation can occur now and in the future. Local councils and communities should be embraced as part of the solution, not the problem.

“Today’s announcement yet again proves the state government lacks any consistency on planning policy.

Media contact: Matthew Guy 0400 001 282

Matthew Guy MP | Shadow Minister for Planning | Member for Northern Metropolitan | 03 9457 5328 | 03 9455 2968 | 0400 001 282 | matthew.guy@parliament.vic.gov.au

GEELONG: ALL PLANNING POWERS WILL GO

27/05/08

Labor cannot be trusted to keep planning in the hands of the community

The state government will undoubtedly try to remove all planning powers from the City of Greater Geelong as it struggles to implement its faltering planning policies.

Shadow Minister for Planning Matthew Guy said the Labor Government’s promise at the 2006 election that planning powers would not be reduced or removed was a disgraceful symbol of a government who is determined to lie and cheat their way through its third term at the expense of local communities.

“Labor promised not to remove or reduce council planning powers but this promise is now a symbol that shows the Geelong community they can’t trust Labor’s words,” Mr Guy said.

“There is no guarantee, no trust and no security for the Geelong community that the Labor government will not move further to remove all council planning powers as Labor governments have done and are doing in other states around Australia.”

Mr Guy said it was outrageous that the Geelong activities of area would now have its planning decisions made by a Development Assessment Committee (DAC) which would have as its majority unelected, appointed mates of the government, instead of democratically elected Council.

“Councils are not perfect, but they are a reflection of a community’s democratic wishes and they are the best forum in which to make decisions regarding local urban and town character,” said Mr Guy.

“A planning body with members who may have never been to Geelong or seen the planning proposal they are making a decision on is not the best equipped body to decide the planning future of Geelong.

“This decision is clearly the tip of the iceberg. Labor will move to take all planning powers away from the Geelong community and that is a proposal that must be fought at every turn.

“Further, Geelong’s four local Labor MPs must make a stand on behalf of the Geelong community and be vocal in their opposition to these current plans and any future plans to fully remove council planning powers.

“The Brumby Government has become arrogant and dictatorial and appears to be out of touch with the hopes and aspirations of all Victorians, and certainly with those of the people of Geelong.

“The decision to remove planning powers from Geelong is a decision that shows the Brumby Government is tired, arrogant and thinks the Geelong community’s point of view counts for nothing,” said Mr Guy.

Media contact: Matthew Guy 0400 001 282

Matthew Guy MP | Shadow Minister for Planning | Member for Northern Metropolitan | 03 9457 5328 | 03 9455 2968 | 0400 001 282 | matthew.guy@parliament.vic.gov.au

LABOR’S NEW PLANNING REGIME – NO MONEY, NO TIMING, NO IDEA

29/5/08

Minister admits there’s no funding, there’s no timetable and no more detail is coming

The Planning Minister has made the startling admission that detailed funding for Labor’s new Development Assessment Committees (DACs) is not listed as a line item in the state budget, confirming there is no indication of exactly what they will cost Victorians.

Further, there are still no details from the Brumby Government as to whether ratepayers in municipalities which have a DAC forced us on them will in fact be billed for the establishment of a planning body that removes their own planning powers.

Shadow Planning Minister Matthew Guy sought details from the Minister in Question Time today (Tuesday 27 May) in order to obtain answers about the confused, hasty announcement made by the Brumby Government last week, but instead was left with more questions and no answers.

“It is astounding that the Minister cannot give an answer as to what the establishment cost, set up expenses and ongoing salary and running costs of the DACs will be,” Mr Guy said.

“Further, the Brumby Government has failed to confirm whether it will pay the DAC costs, or whether ratepayers will be billed for a committee that removes their own planning powers.”

Mr Guy said the Minister also failed to advise when DACs will assume planning powers from local communities in the other 22 activity centres.

“The Minister still cannot give an answer about when local communities in the other 22 activities areas will lose their planning powers – it’s a hopeless situation of uncertainty.

“There is now no incentive for local government to invest in structure planning in these areas, or for business to invest in new developments, when the Brumby Government cannot give a straight answer on when these 22 activity centres will come under DAC control rather than local government control.”

As part of the announcement made last week the Brumby Government outlined the takeover of five activities areas: Geelong, Coburg, Preston, Camberwell and Doncaster. However it also placed on notice another 22 activities areas earmarked for DAC control some time in the next year or two.

These activities areas are:

Airport West, Box Hill, Broadmeadows, Chadstone, Cheltenham, Cranbourne, Dandenong, Epping, Footscray, Frankston, Glen Waverley, Greensborough, Highpoint, Moonee Ponds, Narre Warren, Prahran/South Yarra, Preston-Northland, Ringwood, Sunshine, Sydenham, Wantirna South (Knox Central) and Werribee.