Wednesday, 8 June 2022

 Ms BURNETT-WAKE (Eastern Victoria) (17:47): (1966) My adjournment matter is directed to the Minister for Planning. The action that I seek is for the minister to do all things necessary to speed up the planning permit process to allow residents to live in temporary accommodation on their own land after losing their homes in natural disasters. Storm-affected residents of the Yarra Ranges should be able to live in their own properties in temporary accommodation while they wait for their homes to be rebuilt.

At the outset I would like to thank the Liberal candidate for Monbulk, Gareth Ward, for raising this issue with me after attending a storm anniversary media event early this week. Many residents of the Yarra Ranges lost everything in the 9 June storm. They sat awake, helpless, while the storm ripped through. In the days following the storm, as strong gusts of wind continued, these residents were left to process the fact that their homes were no longer habitable. They were cut off from the rest of the world by road and reception. The Deputy Premier, who is also a member for the area, was nowhere to be seen. The community often expressed to me and to Gareth just how abandoned they felt and still feel by Mr Merlino and the Labor government. Many families who lost their homes have spent the last year living in a rental through their insurance company. However, most insurance companies only offer 12 months rental cover. This means there are many storm-affected residents who are now on the verge of homelessness as we approach the one-year anniversary tomorrow. Their homes have not yet been rebuilt. Some are yet to even receive insurance assessment reports. This has been caused by a mix of planning permit delays and building industry uncertainty. The number one concern for my constituents is having some certainty about where they can live while they go through the rebuilding process.

After the 2019 fires the Victorian government put in place an exemption that allowed residents to bypass some requirements of the planning scheme. This fast-tracked the issuing of permits and allowed people to live on their own land in caravans or tiny homes while they rebuilt. Clause 52.07 of the planning scheme provides an exemption that allows other parts of the planning scheme to be turned off so that bushfire recovery activities can be undertaken without a planning permit in certain circumstances. This allows people to live on their properties in temporary accommodation for up to three years, which reduces the stress and financial burden. These exemptions should not be confined to just bushfire. Although the government have not treated the 9 June storms as an emergency, this storm caused just as much damage and should be classified as an emergency. These residents have been through enough. I call on the minister to do all things necessary to fast-track the planning permit process and enable these residents to live in temporary accommodation on their own land while they rebuild.