Tuesday, 20 June 2023

Housing affordability

Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (21:29): (298) My adjournment is to the Minister for Planning and is regarding the sale of surplus government land. Victoria is in a housing crisis with a shortage of supply, yet the state is sitting on sites that are prime locations in regional cities like Bendigo and Wodonga. Councils have raised this issue with me as this land could be developed to address the current housing shortage.

Bendigo is a city founded on gold where land has been used for mining in the past. The sale and development of the land has stalled because assistance is required to get these sites ready for private development. Work needs to be done to assess the actual levels of contamination and remediation costs and resolve zoning issues. In Bendigo three sites have been identified that together total 80 hectares of land that has the capacity to provide approximately 2600 dwellings and accommodate up to 6400 people. The Chum Street site in Golden Square is fully serviced and has the potential to accommodate up to 840 people. In Wodonga, land in the centre of the town that was once a railway line could also be developed into residential housing. The sites are in a great location close to shopping centres, schools, health services and public transport.

There are examples of projects in Victoria where contaminated land has been rehabilitated. Developers showed strong interest when the Fitzroy gasworks site came on the market in Melbourne last year to create a new neighbourhood to become home to 1000 families. The site had to be cleaned up under an EPA order to remove contaminated soil. Likewise in 2020 there was great interest in Mobil’s former petroleum storage tank site next to the West Gate Bridge.

We need to encourage private developers to increase the supply of affordable housing in regional areas, and I note the gold royalty tax that commenced in 2020 has provided a windfall to state government revenue, raising close to $43 million last financial year. It would be great to see the tax revenue that comes from mining contribute to this project and support regional development. The state government should not be sitting on this land in Bendigo and Wodonga when it could be put to good use, and the action I seek is for the Minister for Planning to work with these respective local councils to expedite plans to enable development of these sites.