By Royce Millar and Rachel Eddie
The Andrews government has used the findings from the anti-corruption watchdog’s Operation Sandon report into allegedly crooked land deals in Melbourne’s outer south-east to bolster its case for a dramatic overhaul of planning and housing policy.
However, any government proposal to centralise council planning powers is likely to face resistance from local councillors – including Labor councillors – the Coalition and the Greens.
Premier Daniel Andrews answers questions about the IBAC report.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Premier Daniel Andrews said last week “everything is on the table” as part of the overhaul. But responding to the Operation Sandon report on Thursday he went further, saying it was the government’s “clear position” that “the role of local councils in significant planning decisions should be reduced”.
Later in a press conference, the premier focused on the risks of outer suburban councillors making decisions that deliver massive windfalls to developers.
“To have part-time councillors making decisions to turn say farmland into a new suburb where you are talking about vast amounts of money – there’s clearly a risk that things can go wrong,” he said.
As forecast by The Age in May, the Sandon report called on the government to consider taking statutory planning decisions away from local councillors, setting up a taskforce to consider ways of reducing corruption risks, and widening the existing but limited windfall gains tax to apply to land rezoning in growth areas.
While the Operation Sandon investigation has been uncomfortable for the government and opposition, with Andrews being privately interviewed and current and former MPs copping criticism, the planning recommendations come at an opportune time for Labor.
Since April, The Age has reported on work on a major overhaul of planning and housing due to be announced within weeks in response to the housing crisis and as part of its plan to squeeze an extra million homes into Melbourne’s existing suburbs by 2050.
Reforms under consideration include axing the first homeowner grant which has been criticised for failing to boost housing affordability and encouraging excessive development on Melbourne’s fringe.
Municipal Association of Victoria president David Clark called on the government to “meaningfully consult with the local government sector” over recommendations to give council planning powers to independent panels.
“With the report clearly stating that corruption risk cannot be resolved by transferring responsibility from elected councillors to a minister, it would be a travesty for the Andrews government to use the findings to centralise planning powers within the backrooms of Spring Street,” Clark said.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto warned Labor against centralising planning decisions.
“If there is any suggestion by Daniel Andrews or his government that the answer to planning reform is for planning powers to be put in the hands of Daniel Andrews, who’s the subject of damning insights in this latest IBAC report ... You’ve got to be kidding,” said Pesutto.
Liberal leader John Pesutto.Credit: Justin McManus
“That is not the responsible way forward. Planning reform cannot involve giving more power to a premier whose evidence was rejected by IBAC when it came down to key matters.”
The Australian Services Union called for dramatic change in the way planning is done in Victoria, and for the establishment of a new body akin to the former Melbourne Metropolitan Board of Works, which was the state planning authority between the 1940s and mid-1980s.
Australian Services Union Victorian secretary Lisa Darmanin said a similar body, removed from the influence of both local and state government and legislated as an independent authority, would help solve the problems highlighted by Operation Sandon.
Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam cautioned the government against stripping councils of planning powers without appropriate checks in place.
“If the Victorian Labor Government is going to remove planning powers from councils without strengthening the state’s integrity laws, it will just be shifting corruption to state government MPs and ministers,” she said.
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