In the early 2000s,the Bracks Labor government introduced targets as part of itsMelbourne 2030plan to consolidate the city. However,with no implementation plan and no obligation on councils to achieve the targets,they were soon forgotten.
Twenty years later,amida worsening housing crisis,the Allan government is determined to get more homes built in established suburbs,and to rein in sprawl.
Apartments in Docklands.Credit:Simon Schluter
It has recruited public service troubleshooter and former COVID-19 response commanderJeroen Weimar to lead the implementation ofthe housing statement Daniel Andrews announced in September as premier,and is working on a range of initiatives,including mandatory targets.
One source said the government wanted to learn from London and Sydney,where housing targets had been introduced for councils.
The planning department has also met with UK authority Transport For London to compare notes on strategies for higher density housing around train stations.
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Victorian councils lost some planning authority last year when the government amended rules to allow developers to take larger projects directly to Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny for approval.
However,the government did not go as far as many expected in reducing councils’ planning authority.
Senior Labor sources have confirmed that MPs were wary last year about picking a fight with councils and communities concerned about being overrun by high-density apartments.
The housing targets are being developed alongside a review of the Melbourne metropolitan planning strategy,Plan Melbourne,which is being broadened to oversee the whole state and will be rebranded as Plan Victoria.
Last week,Kilkenny,Treasurer Tim Pallas and Housing Minister Harriet Shing met with housing industry peak groups which signed up last year to the affordability partnership to deliver the government’s housing targets.
A new housing estate on Melbourne’s western fringe.Credit:Jason South
A day after the meeting,Kilkenny said the current infrastructure contribution scheme was not the most equitable or efficient system. “We’re certainly keen to hear from industry about what further improvements we could make to our infrastructure contributions system,” she said.
When asked if infrastructure contributions would be widened to include all of Melbourne,Kilkenny said the government was reviewing a related report from a ministerial advisory committee,appointed in 2020. The final report was never publicly released.
Kilkenny did not respond directly to questions for this story. Instead,she issued a brief statement:“The status quo is not an option – the best way to make housing more affordable is to build more homes and that’s why we’re pulling every lever we can to unlock more supply.”
But the peak council group Municipal Association of Victoria cautioned the government against “imposed” housing targets and instead backed “housing capacity forecasts” generated with councils.
Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Jonathan Spear.
Association president David Clark said that merely approving more development would not ensure homes were actually built,noting that tens of thousands of approved planning permits across Melbourne were not acted on because of economic factors such as increased labour and materials costs.
Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Jonathan Spear said housing targets for local government areas would provide greater clarity about where new homes should be built,particularly for moderate-income households forced to the fringes.
Spear called for targets to be combined with zoning changes to accommodate more homes,the streamlining of approvals for low-rise apartments and townhouses that met updated design standards,and infrastructure charges to apply to developments across Melbourne and not just the fringes.
He said reworking the charges would help give communities “the transport,open space,schools and amenity they need”.
Analysis by consultants SGS Economics and Planning,commissioned by Infrastructure Victoria,shows the state spends about $50,000 on local infrastructure for every new growth-area home.
But the current growth areas infrastructure contribution levy – a charge introduced by Labor in 2010 – claws back just $6100 per new dwelling,leaving taxpayers to foot the remaining 88 per cent of the bill.
The disparity has prompted calls from Infrastructure Victoria and others for a new universal collection system.
In December,The Agereported that the City of Wyndham,south-west of Melbourne,faced a funding gap of almost $534 million for 49 infrastructure projects it had earmarked for growth areas,partly driven by a shortfall in funding from infrastructure contributions.
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