Residential planning zones
David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (18:41): (1142) My adjournment item tonight is for the attention of the Minister for Planning but is also of interest to the Treasurer. They can sort it out between themselves – but let me explain. The government has announced a series of 10 zones that will see high-density, high-rise developments. The zones are split into two parts. There is a central activity part and then a so-called catchment of thousands of houses around each one. Three of them are in my electorate, in the former Boroondara and Stonnington–Monash and then in the south around Moorabbin but actually going across the municipalities of Bayside, Kingston and Glen Eira. Other areas that I have talked about in the chamber today include Ringwood, which crosses between Whitehorse and Maroondah. And Frankston is, it seems, all within the zone – the City of Frankston itself. This will see the rezoning of these areas, and they will see a massive uplift in value. So the issue here is how this will operate, with the minister giving orders through planning amendments that will see some uplift potentially in value on certain properties, potentially triggering the windfall gains tax. Has the minister looked at the windfall gains tax on this? She has clearly done all of this without talking to the councils. The councils were completely and utterly surprised by this.
My question is: will the minister release the modelling and work behind this as to how much additional revenue will be hooked in through the application of the windfall gains tax to these zones? It might be that the Minister for Planning has not done that work but the Treasurer has. If the Treasurer has that modelling, I would ask him to release it. But the fact is there is clearly potentially a solution for the government’s problems, from its own view, where it has got massive debt and problems financially. It seems to me this is an attempt to scoop in more and more revenue by a wholesale rezoning, in effect, of large swathes of our suburbs in Melbourne. So please release the modelling. If you do not have modelling, tell us that, and tell us whether the windfall gains tax applies.
The PRESIDENT: That will go to planning, and next sitting maybe, because it is tax, you could ask it of the Treasurer if you are not happy.
David DAVIS: The tax is triggered on planning changes but the Treasurer actually takes the money, so they have both got a finger in the pie.
The PRESIDENT: I think we are boring everyone, Mr Davis, so we will move on.