Thursday, 13 August 2026

 Wendy LOVELL (Northern Victoria) (22:48): (2703) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Planning. The action that I seek is for the minister to remove Wodonga golf course from the list of seven sites in the unlocking strategic sites program, reject any proposal to rezone the golf course land for housing and respond to the 8314 Victorians who signed the petition. The unlocking strategic sites program is a shameless attempt by Labor to bypass local government authorities and avoid democratic scrutiny from local residents. The program will put the momentous decision about the future of the Wodonga golf course in the hands of a single person: Labor’s Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny. The government claim that before any sites are rezoned they will seek the views of affected parties and consult the public. Well, Minister, more than 8000 Wodonga locals and golfers have already spoken and signed a petition demanding that the Carroll Labor government keep its hands off the Wodonga golf course. Land zoning exists for a good reason, and one of the proper goals for our planning scheme is to conserve green space and vital recreational land for the enjoyment of future Victorians. Yes, new housing is needed in Victoria, and land needs to be released for new housing, but new homes should not come at the expense of a unique recreational space that is highly valued by the community and cannot be replaced once it is gone. I tabled the online and paper versions of the petition in Parliament in June, and the minister was required to respond by 16 July, but nothing has been said on the matter, and the minister’s answer is now a month overdue.

Liberal candidate for Benambra Steve Martin has been a strong community advocate to save the golf course, and he tells me that petitioners are getting frustrated by Labor’s guilty silence. We can only assume the minister is avoiding the issue and refusing to respond because she knows how deeply unpopular her policy is with Wodonga residents.

The strategic sites program aims to increase the supply of new housing in Victoria by rezoning underutilised land, but Wodonga golf course is just not an appropriate site for this program. It is not a vacant lot, it is not an abandoned industrial site, it is not a disused radio station; it is a very popular community sport asset where juniors hit their first drive, where families stroll on the weekend and where retirees keep active. Ample new land for housing has already been identified by council, and there is simply no need at all to destroy the green fairways and convert them to asphalt and brick. If Labor pave over paradise to put up housing lots, they will rob future generations of this irreplaceable open green space. Liberal Shadow Minister for Planning David Southwick has pledged that a – (Time expired)