Five Melbourne councils have joined forces, calling for greater collaboration with the State and Commonwealth governments to address the shared challenge of social and affordable housing.
Hume, Darebin, Kingston, Moonee Valley and Whittlesea city councils, have written a joint communique to State and Federal Ministers responsible for planning, housing and infrastructure, emphasising that genuine progress is only possible if they work together.
Last year, the Victorian Government set an ambitious target of building 60,000 new homes across 10 activity centres in the next 10 years. However, their plans to achieve this also need to ensure we create complete communities, not just additional homes.
Home to six of the Victorian Government designated activity centres, the councils are asking the Victorian Government to progress the Activity Centre Program as a genuine partnership, recognising the different perspectives and experiences the councils have in managing growth and change.
Agreeing that the provision of well-located housing, including social and affordable housing is of critical importance, the partnership has made three key asks:
- Engagement and collaboration with councils on the detail before the Activity Centre plans are made public.
- Deeper commitment to better infrastructure coordination across all government departments/agencies.
- Support and buy-in from the Australian Government.
In recognition of the joint effort needed to make this plan a reality, the councils have also identified that with the anticipated growth, there needs to be more consideration for infrastructure, underpinned by good urban design and sustainability practices.
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) conducted community consultation for the 10 activity centres earlier this year and are yet to release a report.
Quotes attributable to Hume City Mayor Cr Naim Kurt:
"Housing supply and affordability is one of Australia's most pressing issues and we welcome the chance to collaborate with both the Victorian and Commonwealth Governments to tackle it."
"Local government has a role to play in providing housing choice through efficient planning services, but solving this issue requires a genuine partnership from all levels of government and industry to resolve."
"Hume has been proud to bring together neighbouring councils under the Activity Centre Program, to demonstrate local government's commitment to addressing housing supply and ensuring the best outcomes for our communities."
"As Australia's fastest-growing state and with Hume as one of its fastest-growing councils, we recognise that managing population growth requires not only more housing but also careful infrastructure planning."
