17^th July 2003

Mr. Noel Matthews,

Manager Strategic Planning,

Boroondara Council,

8 Inglesby Road,

Camberwell,

Victoria 3124

Dear Noel,

Thank you for your reply (8^th July) to our letter (4^th June).

The attachments you provided were helpful, however, we were disappointed to find that over half of our questions remained unanswered over a month after they had been received by Council.

An annotated schedule of the latter is attached for your attention. Would you be kind enough to advise whether you would like to:

1. Continue to progress this request yourself ?
2. Refer the questions to Council’s Freedom of Information officer ? or,
3. Undertake a combination of the above ?

Thank you for the invitation to the KCC to make a further submission to Council outlining our preferred housing model, and as part of that submission, how the proposed draft UDF would prevent the delivery of that model. Our submission on that matter is attached, and I would be grateful if you would make it available to Councillors together with your own report, and all the other submissions received.

I note that your report will be presented to Council at its Urban Planning Committee Meeting scheduled for 4^th August 2003, and that you have offered to also make a copy available to the KCC 2 weeks in advance of that meeting.

However, in our submission we believe that it would be more suitable for Council to make the report publicly available on that date (21/7) by publishing it prominently on its Internet web site in a form that is clearly accessible to the widest possible audience, including appropriate links and an explanatory note on both the Home page, and the News pages, as well as the current KRS UDF request for comment page.

In our submission the latter approach would be both fairer to all interested parties, and would go someway towards helping recognise the failings of the UDF community consultation process to date. (eg: lack of full, fair, and appropriate public access to information.)

Such an approach would also allow and promote better public recognition of :

• the scale and importance of the proposed urban renewal project to Boroondara as a whole;
• the respective roles and contributions of UDF Working Group members, including both the volunteer community representatives, Government agency representatives, Councillors, and Council staff;
• the nature and form of community feedback received to date.

It would be helpful if you could give me your response to the above suggestion by next Monday (21/7) so that I can advise our members . Would you also please let me know what provisions for personal presentations to Council on this matter are planned for at both the relevant Urban Planning Committee and full Council meetings?

Yours sincerely,

Brian Walsh,

For and on behalf of

Encs: