Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Footscray electorate planning

Ms HALL (Footscray) (15:47): When Victorians think about notorious planning decisions, they might think about the actions of the Leader of the Opposition when he was planning minister in places like Fishermans Bend or Phillip Island. But today I want to speak about the scandalous decisions that he made in my electorate of Footscray, which perhaps did not get the same media attention, in what is known as the Joseph Road precinct. The area will accommodate around 7000 new residents. I am speaking on behalf of those residents, many of whom are rightfully asking, ‘Why do we have dirt roads? Is it possible to have more trees and more green space in here, or bike paths?’. These are normally matters that are sorted out before permits are granted, but in Footscray the Leader of the Opposition approved the permits without the support of council and whilst ignoring the objections of the Victorian government architect. He also approved the permits without requiring the developers to pay the appropriate contributions for essential infrastructure.

A lack of setbacks has meant that there is a lot of work to be done to ensure that Footscray’s newest residents have the infrastructure that they deserve, including trees, cycling infrastructure and asphalt roads. The Andrews Labor government had to take action to get the developers to pay their fair share to cover the costs of essential infrastructure, and that was challenged in court. I am pleased that finally the money needed to build the roads is coming, and council will start construction on the roads shortly. The Andrews Labor government is putting in a pocket park to provide much-needed green space.