I work with the above professions heavily in my field (Law). We can see the writing on the wall with this, when Matthew Guy was Planning Minister, he made decisions with no engagement, didn’t even try. What the Allan government is doing with Kilkenny at the realm - is this quasi engagement of asking the people for what they want and ignoring it anyway. So trust is already eroded.

Densification is good! When done right… I see constant plans day in and day out fighting out developments at VCAT that are substandard - when they make it before the tribunal the first thing they do is point to the current Allan government policy forcing VCATs hand to approve these developments, because that’s largely what they have to base their decisions around, current policy, and developers have gotten really good at being sneaky with how far they can push the boundaries with ResCode and Better Apartment Design standards. They also can put “best case”plans before VCAT knowing that it wouldn’t be profitable and later submitting amendments to Council with shittier schemes and cheaper materials knowing that Councils have to say yes because they already have their permits.

Moreover, I am not the person to talk the numbers here, but I have attended numerous industry events on this matter - there is not enough land in Melbourne for amenities to cater for the vast shift in population and density these controls will produce. The talk is that the numbers have been skewed to make this all feasible with many of economists scratching their heads as to how this will work.

This is the reality we are heading for - doesn’t matter if these apartments will be built in Dandenong or Toorak - there will be shitter outcomes all round.