DEVELOPMENT AND YOU

Melbourne is set to double it's population within the next 30 years and our governments of both political persuasions  are continuing to push population growth through continually increasing immigration. In 2000/2001 our intake was 80,000 and it is now around 250,000 pa_.

Our governments, both State and Federal, keep telling us that all this population growth feeds our economic growth, so do you really feel better off now than you did in 2000?

No, well the Productivity Commission tells that the actual benefit per head over the last 20 years is only around $380 in total. The Commission goes on to say that what benefits there are go mainly to the new arrivals. not to the existing citizens.

Its the record rate of our population growth that is causing all our problems with planning and development issues. And now Planning Minister Wynne wants you and I to move over to make more room for greater density in our residential suburbs  by "unlocking the potential in the middle suburbs".

I suggest that the Minister is influenced by the development industry's political donations and influence from the developers'  lobbyists.  The effect will be to rejig the residential zones to accept multi-storey development in our residential areas to cope with all the growth in our population.

Will that benefit you? No, it certainly won't.  Any benefit will all go to the new arrivals just as the Productivity Commission has said.

BRAG believes that the Minister's plan will result in increased pressure on our already overloaded infrastructure and we all know that our government cannot finance the infrastructure upgrades to cope with today's demands, let alone what will be required when our population doubles. 

It is time for a public debate on these issues and a total re-think about immigration. population growth and infrastructure issues.

The attached item  (above) "Population Growth can make us worse off", written by Ross Gittens, is worth reading.

CONCERNED ABOUT DEVELOPMENT NEAR YOU?

BRAG has been active fighting against unacceptable development in Boroondara for over 12 years and we can help you with your planning issues including preparation of objections to Council and VCAT.

A recent government report has called for 'INTENSIFICATION OF MELBOURNE'S INNER AND MIDDLE SUBURBS, INCLUDING BOROONDARA.

If you don't want to be 'INTENSIFIED' join BRAG now. an application can be downloaded by clicking on "BRAG Membership Application" in the heading containing links at the top of the home page.  

You can also download our "Guidelines"(see attachment above) on how to object but,,  if you need more just email us at info@brag.asn.au with the details and we will do our best to guide you through the process.

PLAN MELBOURNE REFRESH

PLAN MELBOURNE REFRESH (PMR) is about the eighth plan for Melbourne over recent years and they have all been about intensification of Melbourne. Our urban planners have no real answers to the populion growth inflated by ever increasing immigration, they just want to cram, ram and jamb more development into our residential areas.

For more information on this latest "refresh" see BRAG's email to members attached at the top of this post. PMR is suggesting that the middle suburbs of Melbourne can take more development. Of course the planners, who's profession's income is derived from the development industry, keep pushing this line because the developers don't see any beneifit of developing brown sites or in regional areas because the real economic benifits come from developing in the green and leafy eastern suburbs like Boroondara. That is why we are being targeted.

Read BRAG's email and you will see there are alternatives to the cram, ram and jamb idea.

Time for a big rethink on the rate of immigration and the tunnel vision in all these plans for Melbourne. How about planning now for another city in Victoria which could be progressively developed over many years  to accomodate several million people if that's what is necessary. Or how about cutting back our record immigartion numbers to around the 100,000 p.a. which would still put us ahead of the other OECD countries and meet our international obligations regarding the world population problems. We are sure you can think of more solutions. 

We  urge you to make a submission to Plan Melbourne Refresh by 18th December.

McMANSIONS & FOREIGN INVESTORS

We have been inundated with residents concerned at the number of houses being demolished and replaced by fake "Georgian" & French Provincial" McMansions in Boroondara changing the local neighbourhood character. Many of these are built by foreign nationals using private Building Surveyors with some never occupied.

We have attached information on how this comes about detailing the requirements for foreign investors and how the rules have been rorted using private Building Surveyors.

See the attached items above for the full story. Two pages- 1. McMansions 2. Building Surveyors.

INTENSIFYING MELBOURNE

A new report from Professor Kim Dovey & Ian Woodcock, University of Melbourne, argues for INTENSIFYING MELBOURNE to cope with our fast and ever increasing rate of population growth. ( See post below on Immigration numbers 2000-2014)

The report contains input from Rob Adams, City of Melbourne planner, Universities of Monash & Western Australia, State Government Departments of Planning & Transport as well as three councils.

It follows on from an earlier paper from Dovey & Woodcock "The Character of Urban Intensification" published in 2010, which also pushed intensification in some detail. Dovey & Woodcock made the point then that "population targets could be achieved at heights of four or five storeys". 

That means four or five storeys of apartment blocks in our residential areas, which is what we residents have been fighting against over the last 10 years or so. As a result of our lobbying, the last Coalition Government legislated for the new Residential Zones,as part of it's "Plan Melbourne",  which aims to protect our residential neighbourhoods against such over-development in our local streets. We have fought hard to get this protection but, now, it looks like the battle will start all over again.

Both reports are too large to attach to this item but can be downloaded by Googling - "The Character of Urban Intensification" and "Intensifyng Melbourne".

It will be interesting to see just how the new Labor Government reacts  and we should not forget that the planning profession largely relies upon the development industry for its income, so we should not be too surprised at this latest report from Dovey and Co.

Australia's Immigration Intakes 2000 - 2014

Australia's rate of population growth is 1.8% which compares with the world rate of only 1.1%. with Canada at 1.2%, US 0.7%. UK 0.6%, New Zealand & France at 0.5%.

Victoria's rate is 2.2%, so we are leading in the race to grow our population, which is placing real pressure on our infrastructure, public transport, gridlocked roads, schools, hospitals, water and power supplies, etc.  

MELBOURNE IS SET TO DOUBLE ITS POPULATION IN 30-35 YEARS TO OVER 8 MILLION.  ASK YOURSELF JUST WHO BENEFITS FROM THIS GROWTH?

The Productivity Commission says it is not the existing residents but the new arrivals who gain the benefits, and we add its is also the the development industry and the supporting businesses that supply all the furniture & fittings, white goods etc to fill the apartments and dwellings being built to house these new arrivals. Build more and more then bring in more and more to enable them to build more and more. Its just a great big Ponzi scheme.

Australia's immigration intakes since 2000 have steadily risen from 80.000pa to double that in 2009 and last year it was around the 250,000 Prior to 2000 it was a steady 70,000 to 80,000 pa.which enabled us to manage the growth.

if we return the rate to around the 70.000 to 80,000pa we could stabilize our population growth to a more manageable level but our governments, both State and Federal, are all for growth because,as Callum Pickering said, in the Business Spectator of 22 April 2014, "THE BIG AUSTRALIAN ILLUSION - its creating an illusion of (economic) growth while hoping we don't realize the reality.  (see attachment above).

We say it is time we all had a serious discussion on this rate of growth.What about a referendum on Australia's population growth? If we do nothing where will it all end? THE BIG AUSTRALIAN CRASH?

AT LAST, REFORMED ZONES APPROVED FOR BOROONDARA

Boroondara Council has announced that the Minister has approved the new zones under Amendment C190. However, the Minister did not approve the zones as submitted (details attached above)

Council's proposed minimum lot sizes, site coverage, setbacks and open space proposals have not been approved, reducing the benefits of the proposed zoning. We suggest this is the result of heavy lobbying from the development industry and residents who want to subdivide and re-develop their properties.

We understand that the Advisory Committee reviewing the proposals for additional Growth Zones under Amendment C199 has submitted it's report to the Minister but he has not yet announced his decision.