Cardinia Shire Council is appealing to the state government to pause the implementation of new planning laws that they worry prioritise speed over safety, transparency and community input, with one councillor suggesting growth areas should be exempt from the anti-NIMBY reforms.
At Monday night’s meeting on 15 December, councillors supported a motion from Cr Trudi Paton calling on the Minister for Planning to pause the progress of the Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025, which was recently rushed through both houses of Parliament in the last sitting days of the year.
The motion said the state government should work with councils on a revised, cooperative planning process.
Cr Paton said while late amendments had improved some aspects of the legislation, serious concerns remained for fast-growing councils like Cardinia.
“MAV (Municipal Association of Victoria) said the bill put speed ahead of safety, fairness and community trust, and we at Cardinia agree,” she said.
She also highlighted the risks the Bill poses to environmental and safety safeguards, including floods, fires, and contaminated land.
“Victoria is one of the most fire-prone regions in the world and removal of these environmental protections fail to champion Victoria’s planning objectives of a “safe living and
working environment” and ignores the 2009 Bushfires Royal Commission and decades of planning policy seeking to preserve human life,” Cr Paton said.
In addition to these concerns, Deputy Mayor Liz Roberts said the reforms would place extra pressure on planning staff and reduce opportunities for residents to have a say in local development decisions.
Cr David Nickell said councils should have been consulted before the legislation was introduced, allowing potential impacts to be assessed and funding to be secured to support implementation.
“However, this is the course that’s been chosen, it’s regrettable and I don’t believe that we as a council should be silent about that,” he warned.
Cr Jack Kowarzik said while speeding up planning approvals was important to address the housing crisis, growth-area councils like Cardinia were not responsible for the problems of the old laws, which the state government has labelled as “old-fashioned” and “NIMBY” with an overt target of the reforms centred on the inner suburbs.
“When you have four to five families moving into your shire every day, you are not part of the problem,” he said.
“Growth area councils should be exempt. When we no longer become a growth area council, then we can look at potentially whether or not this legislation should apply to us.”
He believes any shortcomings in Cardinia’s planning were due to resourcing challenges as a growth area council, “as opposed to a competency or a bureaucratic challenge”.
The Planning Amendment Bill will take two years to come into effect. Cr Paton said during this time, strong advocacy from the council, the public, and other agencies will be critical to ensure faster approvals do not compromise safety or community input.
The motion was carried unanimously.
The amendments to the Bill are set to be considered by the lower house next year.
