In the most scathing terms possible, and with conclusions that reveal the mess that State and Local planning authorities are in, the Auditor General released a report yesterday that basically found:
- The Department is not doing its job
- Ministers, department, and councils lack transparency and accountability
- The legislation is inadequate and contradictory
It is a comprehensive review of planning in the state and well worth a read for those interested. Some of the most interesting points made emphasise that very few amendments or planning permits adhere to the ‘social, environmental, and economic’ ‘net benefit’ for the community that the legislation requires. In most cases, these elements don’t even get a mention in reported decisions. Here are some quotes, which we believe apply most strongly to Glen Eira City Council:
If the community is to have confidence and trust in the planning system, decisions must be transparent, and planning schemes must be well implemented and operate as intended.
The assessments DELWP and councils provide to inform decisions are not as comprehensive as required by the Act and the VPP. DELWP and councils have also not measured the success of the system’s contribution to achieving planning policy objectives.
Transparent—there is generally strong community participation due to extensive third-party and appeal rights in planning decisions. However, planning assessments used to inform decisions do not transparently analyse all relevant planning matters as required by the Act and the VPP, and not all decisions are accompanied by published reasons.
Some councils are also slow to review and revise local planning schemes, and there is no requirement for DELWP to regularly review and revise the content of the VPP.
The following image sums up many of the issues that bedevil Glen Eira –
The full report can be found at – http://www.audit.vic.gov.au/reports_and_publications/latest_reports/2016-17/20170322-land-use.aspx
PS: just as a reminder of council’s failure to deliver on long made promises, we repeat part of a previous post that confirms everything the Auditor General claims. The image below comes from the minutes of 2010 and the (in)famous 2010 Planning Scheme Review. Please note all the promises that were made with none being delivered in the space of 7 years! Three councillors of that time are still on council – Esakoff, Hyams and Magee and Delahunty arrived in 2012. What have they done to ‘progress’ the initiatives of the review over this time span? The highlighted sections below speak for themselves.
Glen Eira Debates 
March 23, 2017 at 1:37 PM
Finally!! Somebody who is actually independent confirming what we’ve known all along. The Minister is part of the problem though, and DELWP needs a shakeup.
March 23, 2017 at 3:11 PM
Refusing to act over 12 years and repeatedly asking for extensions on reviewing the planning scheme means that council is not only behind the 8 ball. It is in another stratosphere completely. It will cost a fortune to hire competent planners. It will take another ten years to even make a chink in what needs to be done. I would like this council to be put into administration. No more mealy mouthed councillors who couldn’t lie straight in bed. No more Newtons and Akehursts and no more favours to developers. Tragically you can’t even trust the department who are staffed by ex admins and the ministers who have been useless whether they are Lib or Lab.
March 23, 2017 at 9:05 PM
The Auditor General’s report completely exonerates Glen Eira Debates from the heaped criticism levelled at it, by Hyams and the late councillor, Lipshutz. We heard a heartfelt apology from Cr.Sllver at the last council meeting, in relation to social housing issues. Well done Cr. Silver.
Will Hyams be man enough to front-up and offer his apologies to Glen Eira Debates for his persistently rude and vindictive comments he has made in and out of the council chamber. Secondly Hyams also apologize to the residents of Glen Eira for his ever never ending attempt to cover-up the failing within the Glen Eira’s planning processes. It will be interesting to see if this little man has the bottle to do what Cr. Silver did so well, simply admit he was wrong and say so.
March 23, 2017 at 9:39 PM
It’s easy to criticise governments, departments and councils. But you try to tackle the Melbourne ‘population ponzi’ of nearly 100,000 yearly increase for the next 35 years http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2016/11/population-ponzi-grind-melbourne-halt/ . Housing prices are ‘out of control’ http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-charts-that-suggest-the-housing-bubble-is-out-of-control-20160224-gn2b46.html .And the problems for schools, traffic, hospitals etc is piling up http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2017/02/stress-spreads-population-ponzi-overruns-major-capitals/ .
And just in case you think it’s accidental, have a look at the latest Plan Melbourne, which encourages Melbourne to become a mega metropolis with 8 million people http://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/ . So, if you have money and in particular you are a developer you’d be stupid not to be in the property market business.
Blaming Council and changing Councillors will do absolutely nothing.
March 23, 2017 at 10:45 PM
Anonymous you’re only half right, as many problems will have their solutions met at a local level, this third tier of government has its merits and its disappointment.
March 24, 2017 at 9:16 PM
An update of population ‘ponzi’ and it’s infrastructure problems.
http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2017/03/creighton-mass-immigration-squeezing-cities/
March 25, 2017 at 12:22 PM
Nobody knows what Melbourne’s future population will be at any point in time. That will largely be dependent on immigration policy of future governments that for the moment remain unelected.
Victoria In Future 2016 from Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning [DELWP] carries the following disclaimer: “Projections provide information about population change over space and time, but they are not predictions of the future. They are not targets, nor do they reflect the expected effects of current or future policies.”
Same document estimates a steady future Total Fertility Rate [TFR] for Victoria of approximately 1.8 children over the lifetime of the average woman. That is less than replacement rate. Victoria can have a steady, stable, sustainable population and an immigration program—it’s just not been the policy of past governments.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] sensibly publishes multiple series of population projections that differ in their assumptions about growth rates and other factors. The difference between Series A and Series C by 2061 for Victoria is 3.1 million people.
While governments have focused on boosting aggregate GDP growth through a strong immigration program, per capita growth has been much weaker. The future is likely to see considerable social turmoil as unemployment and underemployment become entrenched features of the industrial landscape.