SW comment - so the Minister is now justifying calling in development projects for retaining jobs in the Global Financial Crisis BUT Mr Madden the Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site is right next door to Shipyards of National Significance with huge naval contracts and 1,200 new jobs secured this year.....  At a stroke of your ministerial pen in March, you decide to rezone the Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site “Residential 1” and not have an industrial buffer which would protect jobs and industry from residents expecting “quality of life” in their new apartments/town houses.  The developer Evolve immediately made a windfall profit of about $40 million. It isn’t too late for the minister to change his mind and every concerned resident and stakeholder is encouraged to make submissions to the Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Advisory Committee by 27th August 2010.

see Former Port Phillip Woollen Mill Site  C75 Submission

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The Age

By Jason Dowling
August 11, 2010 - 3:00AM

“COMMUNITY and local government groups have attacked a big jump in the number of planning matters the state government has seized control of.

Planning Minister Justin Madden intervened in 44 per cent more planning matters in the 12 months to April this year compared with the previous year.

In a statement to Victoria's Parliament, Mr Madden has outlined 233 planning interventions over the 12 months - up from 161.

In justifying the planning takeovers, the government did not argue that the interventions were about better planning outcomes.

Instead, the government argued that the interventions helped ''secure jobs and investment during the global financial crisis''.

In a statement, Mr Madden said ''sustained investment in Victoria during the international economic downturn had been vital in ensuring Victoria survived the economic crisis''.

He said it was ''absolutely right to help secure jobs and investment during the global financial crisis''.

The minister made 220 planning scheme changes - many to aid development in Melbourne ''activity centres''.

Another 13 planning matters before Victoria's planning tribunal were taken over by Mr Madden to ''fast track'' a decision.

One particularly powerful planning scheme amendment VC56 - introduced exemptions from planning rules for non-government school building projects under the Building Education Revolution and made the Planning Minister the responsible authority for all stimulus-funded social housing initiatives.

Save Our Suburbs president Ian Wood was scathing of the dramatic increase in ministerial planning intervention.

''Planning is about planning cities, it is not about economic issues. It is about traffic management, urban consolidation and taking into account all the long-term effects,'' he said......”

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/states-planning-seizures-attacked-20100810-11y9a.html