Wednesday, 23 February 2022

 Dr RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (12:36): (1639) My constituency question is to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and relates to the proposal for community housing at 3–15 Shiel Street in North Melbourne. I understand that authority to approve this development sits with the minister now rather than with the Minister for Housing as a result of amendment VC190 to the Victorian planning provisions. A number of residents in North Melbourne have concerns about this particular development, including the risk of overshadowing nearby Gardiner Reserve, which is an important and much-needed piece of inner-city public green space. While my Greens colleagues and I absolutely support the need for more community housing across the state, including and especially in our electorates, I am concerned that the hard-won planning controls that protect our green open space and facilitate public health and wellbeing are being overridden. Will you meet with residents to hear their concerns?