Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (17:26): I rise to speak on petition 722, which I sponsored and tabled in the Legislative Council on 2 December 2025. This petition has been signed by 2414 residents and ratepayers of Mansfield shire, and it calls on the Legislative Council to refer the Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025 to an inquiry so that consultation with rural councils and communities can occur before any changes to the planning system are passed. I thank the mayor Steve Rabie and all the residents of the Mansfield shire who put together this petition and collected so many signatures in such a short period of time. The petition points out that the bill was introduced with no community consultation, imposes a Melbourne-centric model on rural communities, removes our community’s right to have a say and strips our council of its ability to make decisions that protect the unique country character of the Mansfield shire. It is obvious their view is completely justified, and this house must take seriously the call to refer this bill for further scrutiny by a parliamentary committee.

Mansfield shire residents and councillors are among the many concerned Victorians and local government representatives who have contacted me to express their deep concern about the impact of these planning changes and the government’s complete lack of consultation with stakeholders before these changes were introduced into Parliament. I have received representations on this bill from many of the councils in my electorate – Mansfield Shire Council, Moorabool Shire Council, Nillumbik Shire Council, Murrindindi Shire Council, Yarra Ranges Shire Council, Mitchell Shire Council and the City of Whittlesea – and the peak body the Municipal Association of Victoria. All of them are fundamentally opposed to the drastic changes proposed in this bill. It will expand ministerial direction without accountability and give too much power to developers to decide on their own assessment pathway. It will also massively increase the burden on local council IT systems and planning staff but without increasing their resources. This will have an especially heavy impact on rural councils, which simply cannot access the same planning workforce that city councils can.

Changes of this scale and nature that radically change the relationship of the state to local planning authorities and community voices should never be imposed without significant and detailed consultation with local governments and their residents. The way this Labor government has chosen to force through these planning changes while completely ignoring and bypassing all the stakeholders directly affected shows its sheer arrogance and utter contempt for Victorians. Local government authorities exist for a reason, because decisions should be made by the people who are closest to and most affected by the decision.

Municipal communities have a significant degree of input over changes to their local built environment, rates and fees, capital expenditure, community projects and proposed private developments, but the Allan Labor government has progressively undermined this vital democratic principle in order to assert its own total control over development in Victoria. Jacinta Allan and her Labor colleagues are driven by utopian visions to completely redesign Melbourne and Victoria regardless of what Victorians actually want, and they will not let anyone get in their way. They are riding roughshod over anyone who objects and passing laws to stop people objecting. They have removed third-party appeal rights, they have increased powers for transmission companies to enter private land without permission and now they are taking away the power of local councils to sensitively manage housing developments within their own municipalities.

Little by little Labor have shamelessly removed local oversight and decision-making power from municipal authorities, silenced the voices of those who are affected by their decisions and centralised power in the Premier’s office. This bill will not produce better planning decisions; it will force Melbourne-centric cookie-cutter models on rural communities that are totally unsuited for these dense developments. It will destroy beautiful streetscapes and local amenity that have been carefully cultivated for decades or even a century or more. Once large blocks are gone, they will be gone for good, and the spacious, relaxed feel of charming country towns will never return.

Before Parliament allows these radical planning changes to pass it should agree to call in the Mansfield shire petition and refer this bill to a committee which can thoroughly consult on these changes and make recommendations for a better set of reforms to increase housing supply in Victoria.