Good morning everyone,

Community representatives across Melbourne are in daily communication as we try and navigate the surge of Government announcements and impact on our suburbs.  The very clever and manipulative manner in which these announcements are creating a community divide by spinning the "boomer" or NIMBY (versus the "YIMBY") narrative, by staging press conferences in Brighton to further fuel the flames. 

One representative, Julie Mulhauser from Boroondara sent through a brilliant synopsis I need to share with you.  Please take note of the final action item recommendations.  IT IS NOT TOO LATE.  

 The last I looked we still lived in a Democratic country, our voices can be heard if we are loud enough.

Insights

• The state government keeps talking about a 'housing crisis' without actually defining what this crisis is.
• The government has also yet to define what "affordable" actually means
•  A quick Google search reveals that there are plenty of homes and apartments available to buy in established suburbs - they just aren't affordable particularly to young people.
• Home and land packages in growth areas are affordable - the issue is that these areas have poor services and infrastructure. This is the state government's responsibility.
• Infrastructure and services exist in established suburbs because provision was made as part of the subdivision planning often over a 100 years ago.
• The state government's language makes it seem like the state labor government has 'just arrived on the scene' of a mess of someone else's making. The state labor government is blaming home owners in established suburbs for this lack of availability of affordable housing. 
• Labor has been in government in Victoria for 31 out of the last 42 years. 

This blaming of communities for the lack of affordable homes in established suburbs means that there is not much sympathy with poor process or lack of provision for future infrastructure and services.

• Public housing is the most affordable housing.
• Victoria has the lowest share of public housing in the nation - 2.8% versus the national average of 4.1%.
• Public housing construction has declined nationwide at the same time as house prices have increased. These two are related. Again, it is completely within the state government's power to fix this.

 In Boroondara the community and council have had to fight the state government to retain public ownership of public land and provide public housing. We have the very well positioned Kew VicRoads site, that the state government looks set to sell when they could use it to build public housing if the state government was actually serious about providing affordable housing in established suburbs.

Expert Tip:
Research the history of public housing in your area - including sales of public land.

• Developers are not charities or 'banana farmers' - they are highly rational and their rationale is to make a profit.
• Developers are sitting on approvals or not seeking approvals due to macroeconomic factors including material costs, labour shortages and interest rates.
• Competition from non residential construction (mining and state government infrastructure projects) is contributing to labour shortages. 

There is plenty of zoned land for increased density. Up zoning won't 'magically' change these economic factors.

Areas for Constructive Discussion

• Focus on Solutions
• Expanding public housing initiatives
• Improving infrastructure in growth areas
• Implementing inclusive zoning policies

Process Concerns (here is where we have a problem with the manner in which these Activity Centre announcements have been handled)

• Limited community input on catchment areas
• Lack of strategic justification
• Unclear implementation details
• Reduced transparency in decision-making

Guidelines for Effective Advocacy
When engaging in discussions, maintain focus on:

• Community-centered solutions that benefit all residents
• Quality housing outcomes that enhance neighborhood character
• Evidence-based population planning and infrastructure needs

Taking Action
Engage with MPs to:

• Maintain pressure on government
• Support crossbench disallowance motions

Build Your Knowledge Base

• Review council plans
• Track development approvals
• Monitor local real estate trends
• Understand developer perspectives
• Research public housing history

Community Engagement

• Share information with neighbours
• Build local support networks
• Foster constructive dialogue

Thank you Julie for your tireless effort, and I beg each of you to keep having these conversations with friends and neighbours.  Make no mistake this is not a "Not In My Back Yard" issue.  This is an issue of maintaining balance, correct planning, transparency in communication, consideration of environmental impacts and demonstrating a proper long term strategy that will provide for future generations.  Building multi-storey apartments in narrow suburban streets with no regard to environment, heritage, supporting infrastructure or local residents will NOT solve the "housing crisis" and it definitely WILL NOT create "affordable housing".