Joe McCRACKEN (Western Victoria) (18:14): (2319) Tonight I raise a matter for the Minister for Planning regarding ongoing planning delays within the Central Goldfields Shire Council, specifically concerning a constituent of mine Mr Aaron Beaton and a modest residential development in Carisbrook. Mr Beaton is attempting to bring several housing blocks on line on the corner of Cambridge and Brown streets in Carisbrook. Now, that is seven blocks in the middle of a housing affordability crisis in a regional town which is crying out for growth, investment and opportunity. Yet instead of being supported through a clear and efficient planning pathway, he is met with delay; complexity; what appears to be bureaucratic stonewalling, with repeated referrals and authorities often making referrals to each other; road access complications; cultural heritage hurdles; preference given to preferred contractors; and 100 per cent predetermined cost recovery, including officer time, before matters are even properly assessed or progressed. At some point the question must be asked: are we facilitating sensible regional development or are we strangling it? I fully appreciate that councils have to operate under the Planning and Environment Act 1987. No-one is asking for corners to be cut. What we are asking for is clarity, fairness and timeliness.
Because when councils delay, it is not just some abstract administrative issue – it costs real money, it creates real stress, and it undermines the confidence that people have in the system. Planning should not be a brick wall; it should be a process, and it should be a fair process. In communities like Carisbrook and indeed the broader Maryborough community, we should be encouraging sensible development, not frustrating it through avoidable bureaucratic complexity. Seven housing blocks might not sound much, but in regional towns this is real – this is families, this is growth, and regional Victoria cannot afford to be put in planning paralysis. If we are serious about housing supply, if we are serious about regional growth and if we are serious about fairness, then we must ensure that councils are partners in development, not obstacles to it. The action I seek from the minister is simple. I urge the minister to intervene to help sort out this matter, which would include meeting with my constituent and the Central Goldfields shire, and I am very happy to help facilitate this. I look forward to a positive outcome.