Council powers to be stripped, says MP

By Tania Martin
EVELYN MP Christine Fyffe has accused the Victorian Government of running a secret campaign to introduce a new planning strategy that will strip local governments of their planning powers.
Ms Fyffe said the State Government was on the verge of introducing a new model of planning approvals to replace the current Melbourne 2030 strategy.
She said the new plan would see unelected officials determining what can and can’t be built across Victoria.
Mr Fyffe said the new model would remove all planning responsibly from councils.
“Labor has always wanted to remove local government from planning matters and this new centralised model will do just that,” Mrs Fyffe said.
But a Government spokesman said as part of a review the State Government was seeking information on a new planning model and that no decisions had been made.
“Another state government, in this case South Australia, has introduced a new planning body,” the spokesman said.
“It is not unusual for other jurisdictions to seek information on its structure and operations.”
Ms Fyffe said under a new panning model, council’s like the Shire of Yarra Ranges would lose its power to make decisions on planning issues that affect local residents.
She said residents would also lose the right have a key say in shaping the character of their townships in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges.
“This proposed change has the potential for higher density developments in suburbs and regional town centres, as Labor seeks to override the views of locals by scrapping local government’s planning powers,” she said.
Shire of Yarra Ranges mayor Tim Heenan said the introduction of a system, which is centred on planning panels, would slow down the planning process even more.
He said all it would achieve is to add another layer of bureaucracy to the planning process.
Ms Fyffe fears that many communities which have resisted high-density development could soon have no say.
“It’s important that our local communities have a right to voice their opinion on planning matters,” Mrs Fyffe said.
But the Government spokesman said communities and local government are encouraged to continue to have its say on the implementation of Melbourne 2030.
He said the Government would be calling for submissions on Melbourne 2030 as part of the first five-yearly audit process later this month.