Development Victoria
By John Berger
16 AUGUST 2023
I rise to speak on Development Victoria’s annual report 2021–22, and it is with great joy that I do this as the news within this report is fantastic. Melbourne has recently overtaken Sydney as the most populated city in Australia. Some might say it is an accounting error; I say it is about time. This means that a massive weight lies on the shoulders of development in our city and across the state.
Development affects many aspects of our life. Often the word ‘development’ causes one thing to jump to our minds – residential property. That is a very important kind of development, but there is so much more to nation-building. Civic, cultural and commercial development are key to cities growing fast, as Melbourne is.
Development Victoria is working hard to deliver important projects both within metropolitan Melbourne and across regional Victoria. Development Victoria describe their purpose as to:
… translate policy into the built-form environment: places where people live, work and thrive.
Development Victoria is guided by five policy pillars: housing, economic development, urban renewal, value creation and capture, and social and economic infrastructure. Underpinning these pillars are the values of collaboration, innovation and delivery.
Development Victoria works hard with its partners to deliver complete and innovative solutions to address modern issues in new and groundbreaking ways. As a renter, I know the importance of this. With rental vacancies in Melbourne at a record low we must turn our attention to addressing the supply of housing. Development Victoria is ensuring that we are doing our part to manage the supply within the Victorian housing market. From Werribee to Officer, houses are on their way.
Yesterday I joined the Premier, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Housing at the Bangs Street project, a massive project in my community of Prahran in Southern Metro that will boost supply. Two weeks ago I visited Bills Street in my community of Hawthorn, another project of Developing Victoria. I am proud that we have strong statutory bodies that are supplementing the great policy and infrastructure projects that the Andrews Labor government is getting on with delivering.
Thousands of homes highlighted in this report are in the pipeline for delivery. Development Victoria seeks under-utilised government-owned land and converts it into much-needed diverse housing. This is an important role for government, stepping in to make sites fit for purpose and taking the time to remediate. This is critical, because government is about long-term solutions to difficult problems, not just trying to turn a quick profit, like some unscrupulous developers might.
Riverwalk in Werribee, which is well under construction, will provide sustainable communities in Melbourne’s growing west. Some 2600 homes will be built for some 7300 residents after Development Victoria has revitalised these vacant lots in partnership with Melbourne Water for people wanting to build their own homes. It is already home to some 2500 residents. The community will feature parks and activity-orientated facilities such as basketball courts and bike trails.
Officer town centre will be redeveloped to be more appropriately fitted for the centre of activity that Officer is expected to become. This development will feature infrastructure for retail, office spaces and a wide range of service providers along with housing facilities, all conveniently located near the Officer train station or Princes Highway. Development Victoria is ready to get on with the next stages of the project, with early foundations already laid, including a rail underpass, key road connections and a large stormwater tank.
Development Victoria also is delivering important civic infrastructure like government hubs. These house local and state government workers and services in two of the biggest regional cities, with Galkangu being Victoria’s largest timber-framed building, delivered on behalf of Regional Development Victoria. It is a great program that is being delivered by the Minister for Regional Development Ms Shing.
Closer to home, Development Victoria is working hard on delivering Melbourne’s arts precinct on behalf of the Melbourne Arts Precinct Corporation. Well done to Minister Dimopoulos in the other place and his team for getting this done. This $1.7 billion investment will feature many upgrades, possibly the most notable of which is a brand new branch of the NGV, also known as the Fox, which will include a purpose-built gallery for displaying contemporary works by artists from all over the world. Thanks to Development Victoria, we can be sure that Melbourne’s reputation as the arts capital of Australia is secure. This report shows us that the ball has just started rolling for this exciting new addition to the NGV, with the winner of the design competition announced last March.
Well done to the team as well on being recognised in the Commonwealth government’s climate action initiatives as contributing towards building a renewable future, and their work was highlighted by the gender equality commission for moving towards fighting gender inequality. I look forward to working with them and meeting them soon to see how I can contribute to sustainable development in my community. I commend the report to the house.