Council
16 August, 2024
Council slams lack of consultation
COUNCILLORS expressed their frustration at the State Government’s lack of regional consultation in a submission to be presented during the public consultation for the Plan for Victoria (Plan Vic).
Corangamite Shire Council voted to put forward a submission at last month’s Ordinary Meeting of Council, with councillors all slamming the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
The plan follows from Victoria’s Housing Statement (VHS), which identified the need for Victoria to build 2.24 million houses in the state by 2050
Corangamite Shire Council’s draft target is to build 1300 homes by 2051, which will add to the 8000 existing homes in the shire.
Councillor Ruth Gstrein said, while she agrees the state needs strategic planning, the approach taken should not be used to compare metropolitan councils with smaller regional and rural councils.
“I think that the rural communities need to be supported by regional plans,” she said.
“It’ll be important - the success of the plan will come down to an effective delivery and governance regime that recognises the unique and diverse landscape sensitivities of Victoria.
“Council should have the ability to implement actions at a local level, but not with the risk of cost-shifting.
“A particular focus in our submission is our need to protect our agricultural land, the lack of strategic planning framework around renewable infrastructure, the need for a fit and safe road network, and the impact of the windfall gains tax and rezoning land for housing.”
Cr Geraldine Conheady seconded the motion, saying she shared many of Cr Gstrein’s sentiments.
“To me, it does seem incredible that the apparent approach from the Plan Vic is ‘one-size-fits-all,” she said.
“We all know that there are very specific differences and characteristics of rural and regional Victoria from those in the metro areas, and they absolutely need to be recognised.
“It really is frustrating, too, that the state has provided such limited information and engagement in our communities to inform proper analysis and constructive feedback.
“I think we will find that the final documents that form Plan Vic and VHS will have a very significant impact in Corangamite if their planning framework fails to adequately consider the rural and regional context.
“For that reason, I think this submission is incredibly important for Corangamite.”
Cr Conheady said rural and regional Victoria needed a focus on strategic planning, but there was a need for thorough background information and a proper explanation of the impacts of VHS on the Corangamite Shire.
“I, too, am grateful and really proud of the extra effort that our team made in deepening their research and producing such a comprehensive and thorough submission, which raises 10 points of strategic focus for Corangamite,” she said.
“Some of that focus including the protection of productive agricultural land, foods security, and the energy transition which we are going to be deeply affected by.”
Cr Jo Beard encouraged residents to read the eight-page submission, saying it was written with council forced to source their own information.
“I want to highlight, too, that in a few weeks’ time we’re going to be down in Melbourne on various advocacy, sharing our priorities and doing our advocacy like we do on a yearly basis,” she said.
“This will be one of the conversations we’ll be having, whether it’s a conversation or they sit there and listen, or we sit there, and we don’t get much attention with Plan for Victoria, but we’ll be certainly doing all we can to be heard.
“I think it’s well worth mentioning that, and it has certainly come up in the submission, that often as rural Victorians we’re an afterthought.”
Cr Beard asked why consultation was “always” in metropolitan areas, with differences in rural and regional councils often ignored.
“We are so different to our metropolitan counterparts and even the likes of Warrnambool and Geelong – our regional cities – they’re completely different to us as well, so why are we all put in the bucket when anything is engaged with,” she asked.
“This isn’t something I would normally say but I think, when you talk to our constituents, we’re getting Jack of it – we’re actually not always at the forefront, particularly when it comes to growth capabilities in Victoria.
“We’re open for business; we’ve got capabilities within our communities to grow; we have got potential, so why are we not being included in the conversations right at the forefront?
“We need to be consistent around our messaging, which I do believe is consistent with that messaging from the MAV that rural and regional Victorians in local government need to be thought more of and engaged more with because it can’t just be ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to anything that happens in our state.”
Mayor Kate Makin said she did not want Corangamite Shire to be “left as an afterthought”.
“Being left as an afterthought is not great for us as a community or a shire going forward,” she said.
“We will be going down to Melbourne to advocate what we think is best for Corangamite, and we’ll be definitely putting it in the faces of those ministers that are responsible for this.
“Ultimately, we don’t get a second chance at this and we need to be loud and we need to be proud of what Corangamite have in front of us.
“We need to be at the table and we need to be consulted.
“At the moment, we don’t feel like we’re being consulted – we feel like we’re being left behind and left out in the dark, so invite us to the table and make us feel welcome at that table.”