victorian / planningrevue / environmental / law / association / volume 105 October 2018 Contents President 3 The housing problem 18 Editorial Licence 4 YPG 2017 Award: Affordable housing study 20 The Minister for Planning 5 Automated vehicles: another inconvenient truth 12 Shadow Minister for Planning 10 Paul Jerome Awards 6 Car congestion in Melbourne: VCAT decisions 41 Heritage fabricated 46 VEPLA Conference Justice Michelle Quigley QC 28 Peter Mares 33 Rosy Batty 36 Gideon Haigh 39 Places Box Hill: ‘don’t box me in!’ 15 Rory’s ramble 53 Covenants continued 49 Unlocking significant social effects 55 Planning Xchange 52 Sound bites 44 Stonnington; managing a city in two parts 22 The Business Tribunal Talk 17 Creating a city of 20 minute neighbourhoods 8 The Fast Lane – Parking changes VC148 48 Seminars Commercial 3 – a new zone for EPA Act changes 50 mixed use and creative industries 24 David Davis breakfast 58 YPG: ideas for the future 59 Cover photo: The VPELA conference witnessed some amazing sessions and speakers. The cover depicts L-R Tamara Brezzi, President VPELA, Michael Deidun, Conference Convenor with Rosie Batty, Peter Mares, Author “No Place Like Home – Repairing Australia’s Housing crisis”, Devo aka the Ratio Gang, costume winners of the Gala and Gideon Haigh, Journalist & sporting commentator. Newsletter editor: VPELA Bernard McNamara PO Box 1291 Camberwell 3124 M: 0418 326 447 www.vpela.org.au E: [email protected] E: [email protected] T: 9699 7025 T: 9813 2801 2 / VPELA Revue October 2018 The President Dorothy’s dream Tamara Brezzi President, VPELA At the conclusion of the Hollywood classic, The Wizard of Oz, It would not be in his nature to simply identify and then moan Dorothy famously slips in to her sparkly shoes, clicks her heels, about a problem without offering an intelligent, comprehensive, and whispers repeatedly “There’s no place like home” in an well thought through solution. In “No Place Like Home”, Peter attempt to call upon the housing angels, and the Wizard himself, argues that our housing crisis will only get worse in the decades to exercise their powerful discretion and teleport Dorothy and to come if we don’t drastically re-structure our housing system. her little dog Toto back to her home in Kansas where her doting family awaits her return from her homelessness adventure. We must, Peter argues, attack the problem from numerous angles. For example, he makes a compelling case for the Having spent 2 hours of Hollywood time on a dangerous yellow abolition of stamp duty and replacement of it with a broad based path encountering other characters lacking a base – a wild land tax. This shift in source for government revenue will drive animal, a big crazy dude in a strange tin suit, and a guy who’s many benefits including a greater propensity for people to move taken up a tenuous tenancy on a pole in a field – it’s little wonder house when their house becomes too big for their needs, freeing that Dorothy and Toto were readily convinced to place their faith up supply of suitably sized houses for the next generation of and trust in a magical, albeit uncertain, fairyland system to have households needing access to existing larger housing stock and the opportunity to once again rest in their own beds, at home. reducing the land tax burden on those who no longer need to live on a larger property. We need to drastically increase the supply Peter Mares’ recently released book, “No Place Like Home”, of a mixture of housing types in existing suburbs and to establish explores the paths experienced, and in some cases, endured, more attractive build to rent and rent to buy models. We need to by home owners and non-home owners over his lifetime in bring the idea of renting into the modern age by allowing long Australia to shine a light on the gross inequity that has evolved term leases, minimum liveability standards, transfer of leases as a direct consequence of the ‘great Australian dream’. At first with an ownership change and predictable structure to rent the path is a common one – share housing, renting, university increases to give certainty to tenants about their housing future. life and first jobs; but his path takes a sharp turn away from those of his former share housing mates when he purchases a “No Place Like Home” is a cracking read, examining the heart house and they don’t. The paths are not even parallel for long. of a problem that so many of us in the planning industry make Even over the early part of his lifetime, the great bonus of wealth decisions about each and every day. It forces questions about held in the equity of a house delivers a dramatic difference in what happens if we don’t do something, right now. I commend it the opportunities, and housing options, available. His non-home to you, particularly as we find ourselves on the doormat of State owning friends move premises regularly – shifting from rental and Federal elections in the coming 8 months. This is a policy to rental more times than there are years, and the quality of conversation which Australia must have, and act upon. Dorothy’s the housing is ever decreasing, not increasing. He, on the other shoes and a click of the heels are simply insufficient to bring hand, remarks that his comparatively enormous wealth has about the multiple housing solutions required to address the been bestowed upon him, through no work or effort of his own, multiple housing problems that we face. but through the simple decision of deciding to buy rather than Tamara Brezzi is President of VPELA rent at an early stage in his life. and a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Peter Mares is an author and researcher and was an ABC Broadcaster for 25 years. He is the author of “Not Quite Australian: How Temporary Migration is Changing the Nation” STOP PRESS (2016) and is a facilitator at The Cranlana Programme Executive 2019 BOARD VACANCIES ELECTED Colloquium which is an independent, non-aligned, not-for-profit organisation dedicated to cultivating wisdom in leadership VPELA would like to congratulate sitting Board members Frank Butera, Arup, Colleen Peterson, “No Place Like Home” is a thoroughly researched examination Ratio & Jane Sharp, Victorian Bar, who were all of the housing crisis being suffered in Australia. Peter explores successfully returned in our recent election. how it is that the haves and the have nots have found themselves on paths which such divergent characteristics – one sparkly and Warm congratulations to Jodi Kennedy, Bass growing without effort; one dark with a matt finish and without Coast Shire who was also elected and will join prospect of cause for optimism; a dusty chalkboard surface in the Board next month. comparison to the yellow brick road. A full profile of Jodi will be included in the March 2019 Revue. I’ve had cause to meet Peter on a few occasions this year, including at the VPELA Conference in Lorne in August 2018. VPELA Revue October 2018 / 3 Editorial licence Bernard McNamara, Editor VPELA Revue Director BMDA Advisory Greetings all, as we rocket towards the close of 2018. The northerly) property by going BIG on roof top solar (part paid for heightening frenzy of a State Government election can be felt in by the State Government) and in so doing prevent that pesky the air as the rival parties seek to smear each other by disclosing redevelopment next door? Could this play out all the way down murky relationship on the other side, by announcing new big the streets; across many suburbs, reducing the level of change spending initiatives, with city building promises, decentralisation that might otherwise be expected as part of metropolitan promises, population debates, crime and safety fears, and solar growth? We shall see. or coal energy solutions. Recent published polling suggest it will be a tight contest. And my compliments and commiserations to DELWP for releasing the major planning scheme update in VC148, and then The Premier as leader of the incumbent government is seeking having much of the drum roll reduced by the office fire which to cut as many ribbons as possible along removed rail crossings, stalled the seamless transfer. While we found ways to deal with through Melbourne Metro and by thinking big with the round it, the immediate loss of the mapping component was frustrating metropolitan rail proposal. The last item, as imaginative as it and indicated how ‘online’ we have become. might be, I consider as bit odd, in that a project of such scale was note evaluated by Infrastructure Victoria. Must be the vibe! My compliments also to Michael Deidun, the organising Committee and VPELA staff for the highly successful Conference Not to be outdone, the leader of the LNP is proposing a ’population held at the end of August. In this issue we include contributions commission’ that will assess growth options and recommend from some of the main speakers, being Clay Lucas, Peter Mares how this can be managed so that the infrastructure is provided and Rosy Batty. Peter Mares proposal; on how to solve the in advance. I am yet to reconcile this with the promised release of housing crisis is given a companion piece in this issue by Robert 290,000 lots within the Urban Growth Boundary promised in July Pradolin’s article on how the private sector is increasing its role and the proposed rollback of the changes to the Neighbourhood in this area. It is also (increasingly) not surprising that Robert Residential Zone, promised in June.