Wednesday, 27 November 2024

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (19:08): (1329) My adjournment today is for the Minister for Planning, and the action I seek is for her to finally call in the application by the Assyrian Church of the East and get on with building St Joseph’s Christian college in Yuroke. The church, at significant cost, has been through VCAT this week against the government – talk about a David and Goliath battle just to get the school approved. Jumping through the hoops, we have had a petition debate on this as well; almost 5000 Victorians signed the school petition encouraging the government to get on with the job of this. But the government keeps changing the goalposts in regard to this. First it was traffic congestion on Mickleham Road that will slow down traffic. Even though they approved a precinct structure plan with 8000 homes across the road, it is the school that will cause traffic congestion. Then it was the intersection, and they said the school was happy to pay, the school was happy to help with the intersection. They even had the same designers and planners that planned the southern section of the Mickleham Road duplication planning this intersection, and they keep trying to find problems with it. What was it in VCAT this week they had issues with? It was a certain type of tree that they had issues with. So they keep changing the goalposts for the school, and one would think they actually have issues with a new school starting in the northern suburbs that is not a public school.

They have issues with independent and faith-based schools starting up in the northern suburbs. The minister needs to end this farce. It is a farce, and do you know how it is a farce? The government this week in VCAT has acknowledged it made a significant error in all of its planning documents by assuming that Hume City Council were opposed to this proposal. Hume City Council have never been opposed to this proposal. They literally stated in their submission to the government they had no objection to this proposal, but the government in all of their documentation said that Hume City Council was opposed – a massive blunder. The case should have been instantly dismissed. Instead the case has been adjourned until February at massive cost to the school – again, more cost to the Assyrian Church of the East as a result of this government.

The Minister for Planning can end this farce. The minister at the table should look across the cabinet table at the Minister for Planning and beg her to call it in on behalf of this great community. I have staff members and close friends in the Assyrian community that are desperate for their school to be built, and the government and the minister need to get on and call it in and approve it.