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.