Nathan LAMBERT (Preston) (10:42): I rise to again raise the controversial local issue of the Merrilands single-dwelling covenant, which prevents landowners north of Broadhurst Avenue in Reservoir from subdividing their properties and building townhouses or apartments. It is a popular policy in that part of the world – a lot of people bought a home there and moved there because of that particular restrictive covenant – but clearly it is also a covenant that is at odds with this government’s housing policies. We are not seeking to stop townhouses and apartments. In fact we are seeking to build more of them in order to reduce congestion, reduce emissions, improve housing affordability and, perhaps most importantly, give people, and particularly young people, the opportunity to live close to the job opportunities, training opportunities and cultural opportunities that they need. So we have reformed the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to make it easier to remove that restrictive covenant. Previously, you had to go via the Supreme Court; now you can do so through Darebin council’s ordinary planning system. However, there does remain a decision to be made about whether those applications to remove the covenant will be type 2 or type 3 applications, and we do strongly support the idea they should be type 3 applications. We are definitely seeking to make it easier to build homes in Victoria, but in doing so of course we recognise the pre-existing structure that was there. Restrictive covenants are an unusual but nonetheless legitimate part of that existing system. Our position is not necessarily popular with everyone up there, but at least we have a position. At this point, with only 122 days to the election, we still have not heard anything from the Greens or Liberal candidates on this issue.