I raise a matter tonight for the attention of the Minister for Planning in the other place in relation to the proposed redevelopment of the Kingswood golf course in Dingley. This is a property which has been acquired by Australian Super and is proposed now for a large residential development.
For those who are not familiar with Dingley, Dingley is an unusual suburb in Melbourne in that it is landlocked by industrial areas on all sides. There is one road in and out. There is a small shopping complex in the middle of Dingley and there is existing residential area. The proposal by Australian Super will see hundreds of additional houses and thousands of additional cars dumped onto the one road in and out of Dingley and the small retail complex in Dingley being required to service this very large development.
There is enormous opposition among the Dingley community to this proposed residential development. There is opposition from the Dingley community groups as well as individual residents of Dingley who feel their voices have not been heard in this process at all.
Australian Super, as the proponents of the redevelopment, have refused to engage in any meaningful way with the local community, and now the Minister for Planning has launched a Planning Panels Victoria panel to consider the planning application for this redevelopment. However, the community is concerned that the Planning Panels Victoria process does not give them adequate opportunity for consultation and the lack of privacy provisions around Planning Panels Victoria mean they cannot be confident that their submissions and their input and their identities will be protected in this process. They know that Australian Super has strong links through its leadership to the Labor Party, and they are concerned about not getting a fair hearing through this Planning Panels Victoria process and the resulting consideration of this by the government.
The action I seek from the Minister for Planning is to directly and personally engage with the residents of Kingston. Their concerns are significant, their concerns are valid and they deserve an appropriate hearing. They have not had that to date from Australian Super, they do not feel they will get that from Planning Panels Victoria, and they are entitled to that now from the Minister for Planning.