Glen Eira Council has failed dismally in informing its residents as to the impact of the State Government’s ad hoc planning changes – which have all been done in indecent haste and without genuine consultation. There is no excuse why, we estimate, most of our community has no idea as to what these changes mean for their neighbourhoods and their amenity or legal rights. All that Glen Eira has managed to do is bury some waffling statements on the website that lack detail and a comprehensive analyses of consequences.
To illustrate how far other councils have gone to keep their residents informed and engaged, we’ve uploaded just one paragraph from a series of officer reports from the August 17th meeting at Boroondara. Please note all the avenues pursued by this council to ensure that their community is aware of what is happening and how it affects them.
Source: https://www.boroondara.vic.gov.au/media/121981/download?inline
Glen Eira Debates 
August 19, 2026 at 2:45 PM
That single cited paragraph says it all for me. Our mob do want to keep treating residents like mushrooms as has been said. Continued arse licking to their Labor masters.
August 21, 2026 at 9:00 AM
Glen Eira has a lot to hide, I wrote a published these words 3 weeks ago.
Glen Eira has the lowest amount of open space per person of any municipality in Victoria. Put that alongside one of the lowest levels of tree canopy in Melbourne, and the fact that canopy cover has actually been declining, and the problem becomes much more serious.
Council’s own Urban Forest Strategy recognised that trees provide shade, reduce urban heat, capture stormwater and help mitigate the effects of climate change. Its stated objective was to protect and grow the urban forest. Yet Council now acknowledges that tree canopy on private land is declining, with thousands of trees being lost each year.
There is also a human cost to extreme heat — one that is particularly important for a municipality with a significant older population. Glen Eira has around 24,000 residents aged 65 and over, according to the 2021 Census. Older people are among those most vulnerable to extreme heat. During Victoria’s January 2014 heatwave, there were an estimated 167 excess deaths.
So perhaps the question Glen Eira needs to ask is not simply: How much housing can we fit into the municipality?
It is:- How much green space and tree canopy do our residents need to remain healthy and safe as the climate gets hotter?
With Glen Eira already starting from the lowest open-space position in Victoria, allowing the urban forest to decline while substantially increasing population and housing density is not a sustainable living strategy. It is more like a death sentence for some of our most vulnerable residents.
The loss of gardens, permeable surfaces and mature trees has consequences far beyond aesthetics. It affects heat, stormwater, biodiversity, liveability and ultimately public health.
If Council genuinely believes that green space and an urban forest are essential infrastructure, then they need to be treated as such, not as something that can be progressively sacrificed to accommodate development.