Proposed state government planning changes in Melbourne, focusing on maximizing dwelling units near activity centres, are facing criticism for potentially undermining the city's liveability, heritage, and environmental features. The amendments, which may lead to rezoning of residential areas and the displacement of heritage dwellings, are also highlighted by the draft Mid-Rise Code that could negatively impact solar panel functionality.
The state government’s current planning changes are perhaps the most contentious set of amendments affecting Melbourne in its history and much of the population is unaware of their scope and significant adverse impacts.
The principle of accommodating population growth close to public transport, infrastructure and amenities is a sound one. Yet this ought not to be at the expense of the characteristics of liveability for which this city is renowned, particularly when alternative options are available. Previous planning strategy blueprints such as Melbourne 2030 and its precursors did not rezone existing residential neighbourhoods close to activity centres. The current changes aim to maximise dwelling units in suburban streets within a walkable radius from activity centres and train stations, treating residential streets as development zones. Some of Melbourne’s oldest suburbs with high levels of heritage dwellings, canopy trees and amenity are in various stages of undergoing rezoning. While the state government insists heritage overlays will stay in place, zones are likely to be prioritised and enable their displacement with multi-storey residential development. Similar planning changes in Sydney have specifically protected heritage overlays from rezoning, but not in Melbourne. This is a key difference in the response by the Victorian government and one that is set to destroy not only the history of Melbourne’s development, but the essential features characterising these suburbs as unique and desirable. As noted in your article, ‘we can do better’ and must so that new residents enjoy their surroundings rather than tolerate them.Not only does the Allan government seek to de-green our wildlife-rich garden suburbs, it has now released a draft ″Mid-Rise Code″ that would lower overshadowing standards, allowing new developments to block sunlight from neighbouring solar panels. This is an extraordinary and counterproductive proposal. If the government proceeds, will affected residents be reimbursed for the significant cost of installing solar panels, batteries, and solar hot water systems that may no longer function effectively? Will they be compensated for higher power bills? Making renewable energy systems inoperable through poor planning policy would be indefensible – and entirely at odds with the government’s climate objectives. The government has already shown limited regard for environmental outcomes through its failure to mandate soft-soil gardens in the ‘Townhouse and Low-Rise″ Code’ . Trees alone are not enough — especially not saplings struggling in compacted soil and surrounded by hard surfaces. A tree without a garden is a tree in decline, and wildlife cannot survive on concrete and token plantings. To now undermine the effectiveness of household solar would make the government’s lack of genuine environmental commitment impossible to deny.If mid and high rise apartments are likely to shade neighbours’ solar installations, then panels should be relocated to the top of the new buildings at the developer’s expense.What is happening with kangaroos in Melbourne? The last two days’ traffic reports had kangaroos being corralled by police on major roads in the northern and southern suburbs. This morning a ‘roo was hit on Hull Rd Mooroolbark . I’ve lived here since 2009 and never before seen a ’roo, dead or alive.As a committed, long-term Labor voter, I should be feeling some degree of schadenfreude at the current disunity within coalition ranks, both in Victoria and Canberra. After all, this seems likely to ensure Labor will retain power for the foreseeable future even with the parlous state of Victorian finances. If the best the opposition can do in the face of resounding losses in recent elections is to double down on rejected policies and rearrange the leadership deck chairs, how can they possibly expect a different outcome at the next election? This is not healthy for a democracy. Surely, the job of an opposition is to offer a viable alternative way of running the state/country, not to pursue some ideological battle for policies long since rejected by the electorate. A healthy situation, in my view, is for a government to have a narrow majority and have to argue for and justify its vision and decisions in the face of viable alternative offerings. Large majorities inevitably tend to encourage complacency.”, 9/10). The antics of some in the Coalition and former members are certainly neither funny nor entertaining and so defy that definition. Ley is attempting to unite her party in order to form a coherent opposition. They certainly need to focus on substantive issues. With members such as Price and Hastie, this is proving a challenge. Democracy demands an effective opposition in order to hold the governing party to account. Rome is burning, while the opposition fiddles.As a highly reputable news outlet, SBS is arguably within its rights by not referring to ″Palestine″ as a state Palestine is both a state and not a state. It is both a construct and an aspiration. It is surely disingenuous to treat it as a nation state when it does not have established borders, and, to the extent that it is configured on maps as a functioning state, depends for that status on the whims of its regional neighbours, many of which, in the case of Arab nations, have long perceived its peoples as an existential security threat. No amount of keffiyeh-wearing activism can change the fact that, in 2025, it is partisan symbolism that sustains it. One can both feel compassion for the Palestinian people’s historical ″Nakbah″ tragedy and still acknowledge that their ″nation″ remains a work in progress. Put bluntly, wish-fulfilment does not constitute international law. SBS management is correct in not blindly ignoring geo-political realities. Its considered approach as a media channel to a contested and complex region should not be condemned so glibly. George Orwell would surely have applauded its stance.) depicting the events of October 7 on one side of a scale vastly outweighed by everything else deeply unsettled me. It’s possible to hold two truths at once: that October 7 was a horrific day, the deadliest for Jews since the Holocaust, and that the devastation in Gaza since then is also horrific. Both realities demand our empathy. As a Jewish person on the left, I find myself increasingly alienated by content like this. The portrayal seemed to dismiss the trauma many in my community still carry, while also shutting down space for a nuanced, compassionate response to Palestinian suffering. Wilcox, and The Age more broadly, should be mindful of how such representations risk further isolating readers like myself who are striving to hold complexity in a time of deep polarisation. We must be able to grieve and speak out for justice – on all sides – without being forced to choose one over the other.), two-thirds of the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip still support Hamas, a proscribed terrorist group. After scrolling through the internet, I found that, yes, those figures quoted were correct. What this letter writer didn’t mention was when these surveys were taken. By scrolling through pages and pages of facts from various sources, I found that these figures were from surveys carried out in 2023 and 2024, when any sign of an end to this terrible war was like a distant mirage. In a survey taken in May this year, even while the war was still raging, support for Hamas by the Palestinian civilian population had shrunk to 37 per cent. Why? Because Palestinians are sick of being shunted around like pieces on a chessboard, of wondering where their next meal might be coming from, of sleepless nights and an ever-increasing death toll. Hopefully, Hamas will realise that for them, it’s a no-win situation. Besides, why support an organisation that has only caused them untold misery?How about Greta Thunberg as a Gaza flotilla activist for another crack at the Nobel Peace Prize? That’s instead of a self-nominated, disingenuous felon who targets felons and immigrants at home while sorting and solvingThe Victorian government will use $1 billion of taxpayer funds to rebuild the 30 years young Southern Stand at the MCG to gain an extra 5000 seats; that’s $200,000 per seat. These seats are only guaranteed to be filled on AFL grand final day, and possibly on the odd occasion for other events. In the real world, Victoria needs to build 80,000 public residences over a decade to catch up to other states. Unfortunately, the Allan government prioritises hijacking builders for a sports stadium rebuild instead of putting roofs over the heads of those less fortunate.It is beyond shameful, though sadly unsurprising, that the Victorian government can find billions of dollars to ″revamp″ the Shane Warne stand at the MCG while comparatively little is available to alleviate the plight of the many Melburnians who sleep rough for lack of shelter.″ . I propose a different strategy. As a regular user of the Albury line, I can say Broadmeadows station where you get on and off the V/Line and XPT trains is in need of urgent upgrade. There is little shelter from the weather and to access the station you have to use a grotty underpass. The station opened in 1873 and was upgraded in 1990. I think the Allan government could splash at least $4 million on an infrastructure upgrade and bus transfer area. I have seen up to 30 people get off the train at Broadmeadows with suitcases to catch the 901 bus to the airport. This is a vital link for country passengers coming to Melbourne. Broadmeadows station has been forgotten by successive governments and needs an urgent infrastructure update to serve the people of the north and northern V/Line services. This is a major population growth area.I am deeply concerned by the suggestion Victoria should remove computer algebra systems from mathematics education and exams. Such a move would be a regressive step that undermines modern learning and risks Victoria’s leadership in STEM education . CAS enhances understanding – it does not replace it. In VCE mathematics, CAS enables assessment of conceptual grasp, investigation, and application rather than rote skill. Removing it would reduce exams to mechanical tasks like “solve” or “prove”, eliminating the thinking and reasoning elements central to mathematics. Higher scores from easier exams would not reflect deeper learning – just lower expectations. CAS is not a crutch; it is a bridge from “how” to “why.” By automating routine calculation, it allows students to explore patterns, test ideas and focus on problem formulation and interpretation – skills essential for modern science and technology. Eliminating CAS would shift assessments back to repetitive computation. It would also isolate Victoria from global best practice, as leading education systems continue to integrate technology to prepare students for real-world problem-solving.Gambling has a conflict-of-interest problem similar to the tobacco sponsorship of sport issue of yesteryear. Sports clubs had become reliant on tobacco sponsorship and were very reluctant to give it up. Forecasts of doom failed to happen when public pressure finally prevailed. Similarly, state governments now feel reliant on what amounts to the sponsorship of gambling taxes and are reluctant to reduce them. Forecasts of unemployment and services cuts may happen if we rein in gambling, but are unlikely to be long-lasting. The social benefits of reduced gambling predation would far outweigh this. Continued public pressure is the essential factor for reform.I’m marvelling at the look of Trump’s golden Oval Office makeover. Move over King Midas. That didn’t turn out too well either.The crux is Hamas and the Palestinians are unwilling to just hand over Gaza to Israel for a Trump-style Riviera for Israelis and Western tourism.Would love to be a fly on the wall in the White House to see the secret service scramble to deal with Trump’s revelation that he’s headed to Egypt on Sunday.I would happily forgo free weekend travel on public transport over summer, estimated to cost $15 million, so regional Victorians could alight at Sunshine Station.Thank you Jacinta for free transport on weekends, although if one travels by tram you would surmise it is free every day.Optus staff “emailing” triple zero outage advice to the Department of Communications, amazes me. Surely, a simple phone call should have done the trick. They could have even used a Telstra phone.
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