Tuesday, 29 October 2024

 Sonya KILKENNY (Carrum – Minister for Planning, Minister for the Suburbs) (14:16): The Allan Labor government has had a really busy week approving and building more homes for Victorians and more opportunities for Victorians – homes of the right size and homes at the right scale for our suburbs. More homes means more opportunity, and last week I was delighted to join the Premier at Middle Brighton to announce more homes at 50 train and transport centres right across Melbourne, an expansion of our 10 activity centres program to build more homes and to give more opportunity for Victorians to live where they want to live. These are plans to support these wonderful places to change gradually over time, places where you can wake up in a well-designed and well-built home and get ready for work or school knowing that the train or tram is just a short distance away and knowing that the local shops and services are at your fingertips and that there are plenty of people around, those wonderful people who help keep local businesses in business, teach your kids at the local school, pour your coffee or even look after you when you need care.

We are setting the foundations now so that these great local places can grow gently and comfortably over time and making sure that as communities grow so too will the services and the infrastructure to support them. We will plan for and see more trees, more open space and parks and more vibrant streets. We are planning for gentle densities around our train and tram activity centres because these are exactly the kinds of people-scaled places we need.

Members interjecting.

Sonya KILKENNY: There is nothing gentle about those opposite – nothing gentle at all. They are loud and they are blockers. Of course it is Halloween this week. That would suit the member for Brighton – spooky, lurking in the shadows, blocking more homes – and the member for Hawthorn, blocking more homes – (Time expired)