The Victorian state government has been accused of "anti-democratic" behaviour after details of a proposal to block neighbours from objecting to housing developments were leaked to the media.
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00:00Almost a year after setting an ambitious target of 800,000 homes over a decade, the government
00:08is worried too many development proposals are ending up here, bogged down in significant
00:13delays.
00:14Sometimes it takes longer for a planning permit application to go through the process than
00:19it actually does to construct a new development.
00:23After leaks in the age, the planning minister today called a last minute press conference,
00:27admitting residents' VCAT appeal rights could soon be quashed for development proposals
00:32that meet certain residential housing standards.
00:35Where the standard is met, then there are no third party appeal rights.
00:42Sonia Kilkenny says there'll be no changes to building height limits and the proposals
00:47aren't set in stone.
00:49No decision has been made yet.
00:52But the question of whether neighbourhood character requirements could be ditched from
00:55planning considerations today saw accusations that beloved suburbs could be defaced.
01:01So the worst type of development can now be built in any street.
01:07We as a community really need to have that conversation about what we might be prepared
01:13to perhaps give up or sacrifice to make sure that future generations have access to housing.
01:20Under the housing statement, the minister already has the power to take decision making
01:24control for certain large housing proposals.
01:27Her decision earlier this week to approve a contentious 84 unit development here at
01:31this former school campus in Brighton was just the latest example of the government
01:36approving houses in the face of community opposition.
01:39It's all about how do we get more good quality homes built more quickly for Victorian families.
01:46It's anti-democratic.
01:47The government aims to have proposed changes in place by the end of the year.
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