Tuesday, 7 June 2022

Southern Metropolitan Region heritage

Ms CROZIER (Southern Metropolitan) (19:43): (1961) My matter this evening that I would like to raise is for the attention of the Minister for Planning, and it is in relation to a campaign that is being conducted by the Boroondara heritage group and Roseberry Street residents, who last Sunday week were in Fritsch Holzer Park and had a great display. Mr Hayes is nodding. Did you attend?

Mr Hayes: No, I didn’t attend.

A member: Great park.

Ms CROZIER: Well, it is. It was a terrific display of heritage and the historical nature of what has occurred in that area of Hawthorn. I was there with the Liberal candidate for Hawthorn, John Pesutto—

Dr Bach: Wonderful candidate.

Ms CROZIER: He is a terrific candidate, Dr Bach. Mr Pesutto; Ms Jess Wilson, the Liberal candidate for Kew; and I have been meeting with these various groups to discuss their concerns with the issues around heritage in Hawthorn and Kew. Right across the Southern Metropolitan Region there are massive issues around heritage and the development that has been going on where local communities are not getting a say.

There on site, as I said, on Sunday a week ago, was a display of the Hawthorn brickworks and the significance it has had over many years for that community’s heritage. Really it was wonderful to see so many local community members there. In recent years these properties, especially along Roseberry Street, have been threatened by proposed developments, and four cottages were demolished in 2021. The local residents are really concerned about the level and extent of demolition around these areas, and they really do want to have some protections put in place.

The action I seek is for the planning minister to meet with these local residents as a matter of urgency and as a matter of priority so that he can hear firsthand from them their concerns, see the historic nature and the heritage that this area provides to Hawthorn and indeed to Melbourne. Many homes were established from bricks out of those brickworks, especially around those areas, and they are very well known to so many. I think it is just another display of our wonderful heritage and the history of this very significant area. I do hope the planning minister will take this up as a matter of urgency. This group is a very committed group. They are very concerned about what is going on, and they would very much appreciate the planning minister’s presence so that he understands exactly what their concerns are.