Thursday, 4 June 2026

 Gabrielle DE VIETRI (Richmond) (05:31): (1695) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Planning, and the action I seek is for the minister to reject application PA2604311 for a ministerial permit. Mark and Michelle live on Adam Street in a quiet residential neighbourhood in Burnley. They got in touch with me to share their distress that a 24/7 seven-storey storage facility was being proposed directly opposite their home. The application by StorHub, a Singaporean-based multinational business, is being processed under the Victorian Labor government’s development facilitation pathway. The development facilitation pathway was created to support projects that make a significant contribution to Victoria’s economy and deliver substantial public benefit, including affordable housing and job creation. Meeting these criteria gives the project a special fast-tracked pathway straight to the minister, bypassing all community and council input and removing any avenue for a decision to be challenged or appealed. I am curious to know: how on earth does a self-storage facility meet these criteria? There would be limited employment opportunities, no housing – although in the current climate I would not blame someone for trying – and, frankly, minimal public benefit. Mark, Michelle and their neighbours found out that within just weeks their lives could be turned upside down – for what? Their quiet street is not an appropriate place for a massive 24/7 seven-storey storage facility, and it is certainly not an appropriate project for the development facilitation program. That is why today I am asking the minister to reject this application for a permit at 173–177 Barkly Avenue in Burnley.