🏛️Of 5 pillars, only 1 pillar deals with creating more homes via: • The Activity Centre Program • Coucil Housing Targets
Traditional Owner relations is the pillar featured on the web, not housing.
Rather than commit to broad systemic reform, PfV goes full-tilt into high density being the housing solution for Melbourne despite broken economics. It is now pushing the same poor logic into regional areas.
PfV purports to give Victorian's a "choice of a well-designed home at an affordable price and close to daily needs". It references surveys that (unsuprisingly) find people want affordable and diverse housing near transport, schools and essential services in established areas.
Yet PfV doesn't address the fact that affordably-priced new homes can't be built in these areas because of government policy.
🚫It does zero to address the #feasibility issues which prevent more such development being built like: • Construction costs • Productivity • Council & authority performance (other than speeding some planning permits up) • Taxes, levies & charges • Overly-prescriptive design requirements
It ignores that high-density #residential remains niche for owner-occupiers in Victoria, and that the bulk of #apartments in the boom were sold to investors – local & foreign – now persona non grata in the State.
It locks down future land supply in metro & regional areas, and does not look critically at unlocking land in or near established suburbs, or streamlining the development process, nor does it remove barriers like Windfall Gains Tax.
It does not allocate infrastructure spending to new suburbs, middle rings or regions which would pay dividends for those area above existing commitments.
The Minister for Planning's foreword tells a story: "Together, we’ll shape a future Victoria that is socially inclusive, environmentally resilient, economically prosperous and connected to a global ecosystem of opportunity for all Victorians."
Ultimatey PfV is a set of motherhood statements which offer few actionable solutions to reduce the cost of new housing or create truly better places.
I'm amazed at the time spent on such work instead of doing the real job of unlocking #attainable new development in an existing #housingcrisis. For 92 pages it is incredibly light on content and solutions.
🤔We need to think long term, but cannot do it by ignoring the present. Implementing PfV as drafted now will only make things worse.