2016-11-23
MR BARBER (Northern Metropolitan) — Everybody in Melbourne is debating at the moment how best to preserve the livability that makes Melbourne a place that so many want to live. Unfortunately the Minister for Planning, who controls absolutely the planning scheme at the stroke of a pen, wants to blame Yarra council, saying they are too lazy and have not written planning controls that would protect the neighbourhood character while allowing for future development. Yarra council has actually got eight planning scheme amendments on the go, and four of them are sitting on the minister's desk as we speak. The minister is the main blocker here to bringing forward the kind of sensible, balanced controls that Melbourne needs to protect what we love about it.
Residents are now calling not only for better controls for heritage areas but, by the way, a ban on developer donations and an increased proportion of social housing. I applaud both Yarra council and those local residents who have decided to get together and send a delegation to the minister. I hope that he meets them as quickly as possible, listens carefully to their concerns and comes up with a practical plan for protecting what we love about the City of Yarra.
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