Hannah Hammoud
Brimbank council has launched a strong opposition against plans from the state government to strip local council’s of some of its planning powers.
The state government’s position follows on from the Operation Sandon report handed down in late July from the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC), which revealed instances of corrupt conduct involving councillors and property developers within Casey council.
In a statement issued by Premier Daniel Andrews, the state government said it intends to strip councils of some of their planning powers in order to combat corruption between developers and councillors.
“The IBAC report’s 34 recommendations will be given appropriate consideration, but it is the clear position of the government that the role of local councils in significant planning decisions should be reduced and we will have more to say on this matter,” read part of the statement.
However, Brimbank mayor Bruce Lancashire said that while he agrees the behaviour described in the report is ‘unacceptable’, it should not be seen as a reflection of the conduct of all elected representatives.
“Brimbank strongly opposes any attempts to use IBAC’s findings of one council’s conduct to water down the role of all 79 councils in planning processes,” he said.
“Greater local government involvement in major planning decisions remains in the best interest of local communities.”
Cr Lancashire cited particular concerns with IBAC’s recommendation to remove statutory planning responsibilities from councillors.
“The report recommends councillors are removed from the decision-making process in determining planning permits – a responsibility that has been entrusted upon us by the communities who have elected us to represent them,” he said.
Cr Lancashire said a further recommendation from IBAC which advises that an independent decision-making panel be implemented for defined planning permit applications will have negative ramifications.
“This [recommendation] is also proposed to apply to the Minister for Planning. For local government, the consequence is that council officers would process applications as normal; would have delegations for most applications; and use an independent panel for defined decisions. In reality this will likely mean delays to the decision-making process affecting the efficient administration of statutory planning functions,” he said.
