The Land
Other Victorian Public Land
Community Action Campaigns
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Shepparton Botanic Gardens
The
National Trust
The
Press -
Background (2002-2003)
Metro Media November 2003
When the time comes for our
daughter to leave home
Letter to the Editor
Karen Hitchen, Brunswick
November 19, 2003
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027115271.html?from=storyrhs
Don't treat them as
second-class
citizens
Letter to the Editor
Eric Emerson,
Professor of Clinical
Psychology
University of Lancaster, UK
November 19, 2003
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027115271.html?from=storyrhs
(KCC
Comment: We understand Professor Emerson's recent visit to Melbourne
was
paid for by the State Government)
Misplaced advocacy
Letter to the Editor
Ian Whalley, Kew Cottages
Parents
Associaion
November 19, 2003
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027115271.html?from=storyrhs
Where
are these people meant to live?
Letter to the Editor
Lorriane Keogh, Ballarat
The Age, Melbourne
November 18, 2003
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/18/1069027115271.html?from=storyrhs
Where
are these people meant to live?
The
"extraordinary mess" that Opposition
community
services
spokeswoman Helen Shardey called the Kew Cottages redevelopment (The
Age
, 14/11) can only get worse with comments from the likes of Gillian
Meldrum
from the new disability group Community Living Alliance.
Where
does Ms Meldrum propose that the
more
than 3000 people in Victoria with intellectual disabilities at present
on accommodation waiting lists - including more than 1000 who are
classified
as urgently requiring accommodation - live?
I'd be
fascinated to know Ms Meldrum's,
and
Community Services Minister Sherryl Garbutt's, plans to house these
unfortunate
people. Unlike those living at Kew Cottages who already have a roof
over
their heads, these people are on waiting lists that can be years long.
Lorraine Keogh, Ballarat
What is
really best for the Kew Cottages people?
Kenneth Davidson
The Age, Melbourne
November 17, 2003
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/16/1068917668662.html
Council
set to challenge Kew
Cottages
plans
Carol Nader
The Age, Melbourne,
14th November 2003
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/13/1068674318925.html
State to control Kew Cottages
Kate Uebergang
The Herald Sun, Melbourne
13th November 2003
http://heraldsun.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7851096%255E2862,00.html
Urgent attention needed for
Kew Cottages: report
The Age, Melbourne,
4th November 2003
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/03/1067708137317.html
Turf war over prime site
Kate Uebergang
Urban affairs reporter
The Herald Sun, Melbourne
3rd November 2003
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,7749007%255E2862,00.html
Local Media....
Progress Leader 17th Nov
Heading - Council loses Kew
powers
By Matthew Schulz
THE State Government has
taken control of residential
development
at the
Kew Cottages site, saying Boroondara Council is not fit to deal
with the
project.
But the council says the
Government has sacrificed democracy
for
more money.
The Government wants to close
the home and replace it with up
to
800 houses
at the prime 27ha site on the banks of the Yarra River.
The State Opposition said it
stood to raise up to $300 million
from
the
project.
Until now, Boroondara had
been charged with drawing up planning
guidelines
and presiding over debate between residents, state officials,
disability
advocates and families of residents at Kew Cottages - now known
as Kew
Residential Services (KRS).
The council this month
adopted planning guidelines for the
site,
which set
aside half the land for open space, ignoring a Government
preference
for 27
percent open space.
But late last week, the
Government used special powers to "call
in"
the
project and ensure its plans were the basis for future development.
Community Service Minister
Sherryl Garbutt said the council had
been
too
slow to deal with the project, ignored offers to work with the
Government
and failed to formally consult with the Government.
In a written statement Ms
Garbutt said the project had
"statewide
significance".
She said the Government had
to ensure it proceeded "swiftly and
appropriately to safeguard the welfare of residents with
disabilities".
"This project is too
important to be a political football or to
be
undermined by planning uncertainty," Ms Garbutt said.
"There will be a community
consultation process to ensure the
community
and
stakeholders can have their say on the redevelopment of KRS."
Mayor Judith Voce said the
Government now had a "substantial
conflict
of
interest" as the owner,
developer and planning
authority and its move was an "affront"
to
the
council's extensive consultation.
"it appears the Government
has chosen this course of action in
order
to
maximise the financial gain ... at the expense of accountability
and local
democracy," she said.
10th November
More Kew
Conflict looms
Progress Leader Page 5
10 Nov 2003
By Belinda
Mackowski and Matthew Schulz
THE State
Government appears set to take control
of the
Kew Cottages
redevelopment.
Boroondara
Council urban planning director Phillip
Storer
has accused the
Government of issuing "veiled threats" it planned to
sidestep the council
and take control of the project for 800 apartments
and
houses on prime Kew
real estate.
The council has
already drawn up planning
guidelines for
the 27ha site
after heated community debate.
But the
Government has the power to take over
planning
for the Kew
Residential Services (KRS site if it deems it a
project
of state
significance or if it would be in the public interest
to make an urgent
decision.
Planning
Minister Mary Delahunty can also "call
in" the
project if the
Government believes the matter "is unlikely to be
reasonably
resolved by
the processes normally available".
Community
Services Minister Sherryl Garbutt last
week
raised the stakes by
labeling the Kew Residential Services redevelopment a
"project of state
significance".
Last week Ms
Garbutt accused Boroondara Council of
being
uncooperative and
too slow in planning the KRS redevelopment, taking 18
months to do what
should have taken six months.
Ms Garbutt
attacked the council after it rejected
the
Government's revised
plans for the site and instead decided
to seek public
comment on its own plans.
"The council's
reluctance to work with the Bracks
Government
on the KIRS
redevelopment smacks of territorialism," she said.
"The
redevelopment of
KRS is a project of statewide significance and is too
important to get
bogged down in petty local politics or individual
agendas."
Ms Garbutt said
the Government was "not confident"
of
Boroondara's ability
to conduct the process in a timely manner.
"The Kew
redevelopment is far too important to get
waylaid
by planning
uncertainty and council indecision," she said.
Mr Storer vowed
the council would "vigorously
resist"
any attempts by the
Government to replace the council as the planning
authority
on the project.
Mr Storer said
if the Government called in the KRS
project
it would create
a conflict of interest.
He said the
State Government would then be the
landowner
and developer and
would also have the final say on what could be built
on the site.
The council has
also asked the Municipal
Association of
Victoria to
advocate against the State Government's "call W'
powers.
3rd November
2003
Call to Stop Kew Plans
Progress Leader 3 Nov 2003 pg 18
COMMUNITY
members fighting the sale and
redevelopment
of the Kew Residential Services site have called for
the planning process to be frozen.
Kew Cottages
Coalition president Brian Walsh said
the
group wanted a moratorium on any further planning of the
Kew redevelopment until Boroondara Council
investigated
how other councils were fighting State Government
attempts to sell off public land to developers.
The Government
wants to replace the council's
development
plans, adopted in August, with its own,
and to fast-track them for approval by next June.
Under the
Government's plans 27 per cent of the
Kew site
would be kept for public open space, while under the
council's, 50 per cent would be parkland.
Mr Walsh said
the group was unhappy with the
council's
and the Government's redevelopment plans.
"As far as the
plans go it is like two people
arguing
about who is going to be the hangman," he said.
Before either
plan can be adopted a planning
scheme amendment
is required.
Boroondara Mayor
Judith Voce said the council had
to exhibit
the amendment for a minimum of one month.
The council will
allow community feedback on the
amendment
between October 30 and December 12.
Mr Walsh and Kew
Cottages Parents Association
president
Ian Whalley said they considered the exhibition
period too short for a development of the magnitude
and
significance of the new Kew urban village.
The Government
has told the council an independent
panel
hearing must be held on the plans, and the panel's
decision considered by the council, before June 30
next
year.
City digs in over Kew
Cottages proposal
Progres Leader By Belinda Mackowski
BOROONDARA
Council has refused to throw out its
vision
for the Kew Cottages site in favour of the State
Government's revised plans for the redevelopment.
The council has
vowed to go ahead with its normal
planning
process and has called for public comment on its own
plans for the 27ha Kew site. Public consultation is
until
December 12.
The council has
warned that it would vigorously
resist"
any attempt by the Government to "call in" the project and
take over as the planning authority in charge of the
Kew Residential Services site redevelopment.
The Government
last month released a revised urban
design
framework for the sell-off and redevelopment of the
site, which has been home to the Kew Cottages'
intellectually
disabled residents for more than 100 years.
The Government
wanted the council to replace
guidelines
that a working party of council, Government and
community members drew up, with its own framework.
Council urban
planning director Phillip Store said
the
Government's plans were significantly different- from the
urban design framework adopted by the council in
August.
Mr Storer told
the council meeting last week that
the
Government had been ' 'disingenuous and misleading" in
promoting, its revised scheme for the development of
a high-density urban village at Kew.
He said the
Government had not revealed that its
plans
would reduce the amount of open space on the
redeveloped site, compared with the council's
framework.
The council's
plans allow for 50 per cent of the
land
to be kept as open space, while the State Government wants
only 27 per cent as parkland.
Mr Storer also
told the meeting that the
Government's
claims that it intended to cut the number of houses on the
site from 1600 to between 450 and 800 were incorrect
and grossly misleading.
"Council's
adopted urban-design framework did not
and
has not ever contemplated dwelling numbers," he said.
Mr Storer said
the council would oppose any
attempts by
the Government to call in the project and override the
council's planning procedure.
He said the
council would seek public comment on a
planning-scheme
amendment this month, then an
independent planning panel would be appointed to hear
arguments about the amendment.
"There has been
a veiled threat that this may be
called
in by the Government," Mr Storer said.
"The Government
has the opportunity to submit its
proposal
to the independent panel during the process."
Sarah McKinnon,
spokeswoman for Community Services
Minister
Sherryl Garbutt, said the Government would
continue to discuss the redevelopment with Boroondara
Council during the planning process.
"We have
listened to the views and needs of the
local
community and the council and ... developed a new
framework that goes a long way towards meeting their
requirements," she said.
"The Government
is committed to ensuring the
redevelopment
proceeds in a timely fashion. "
Kew Cottages'
supporters have criticised the
Government's
revised plans, with Kew Cottages Coalition president
Brian Walsh calling the reduction in open space a
"grab
for cash".
Metro Media Nov 2002- Oct 2003
| 41 |
Urgent attention needed for
Kew Cottages:
report |
AGE |
November
4, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 40 |
State's power on Point
Nepean |
HWT |
October
31, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 39 |
$120m Kew Cottages plan
rejected |
HWT |
October
29, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 38 |
Council rejects state plan
for Kew Cottages
site |
AGE |
October
28, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 37 |
Vic Govt rolls in $2.1b
stamp duty bonanza |
ABC |
October
27, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 36 |
New pledge for Point Nepean |
HWT |
October
22, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 32 |
Kew Cottages plan fails to
quell fears |
AGE |
October
18, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 33 |
Kew redevelopment plan
panned |
ABC |
October
18, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 34 |
$120m Kew plan stuns
residents |
HWT |
October
18, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 35 |
Fed Govt reveals Mornington
Peninsula
plan |
ABC |
October
18, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 31 |
letters, disability
services protest
$17m govt funding cuts |
AGE |
October
14, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 30 |
How Bracks is letting $65
million sail
into the sunset |
AGE |
October
6, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 28 |
Kew Cottages Protest |
OM |
September
29, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 29 |
Yarra left up the creek
without a paddle |
AGE |
September
29, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 27 |
Looking past family
stereotypes |
AGE |
September
26, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 26 |
Kew Cottages: let there be
choices |
AGE |
September
22, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 25 |
Kew Cottages group eyes
future |
HWT |
September
17, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 24 |
Don't segregate people with
disabilities |
AGE |
September
14, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 23 |
Heritage fears rise |
HWT |
September
1, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 22 |
Debunking some Point Nepean
myths (letter
K. Duxbury) |
AGE |
August
29, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 21 |
Point Nepean 'not for sale' |
AGE |
August
25, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 19 |
The disabled deserve to
have a choice |
AGE |
August
23, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 20 |
Kew Cottages: good riddance |
AGE |
August
23, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 18 |
Missing voices in the Kew
debate (Letter) |
AGE |
August
20, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 17 |
We must do better by those
in our care |
AGE |
August
19, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 16 |
Kew is about people, not
land |
AGE |
August
18, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 15 |
The disabled need love. Not
some ideological
utopia |
AGE |
August
15, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 14 |
Minister drops fee plan
within hours
of release |
AGE |
August
12, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 12 |
Families, Bracks fight over
disabled |
AUS |
August
11, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 13 |
Parents split on rehousing
plan |
AGE |
August
11, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 11 |
Disabled plan city protest |
HWT |
August
10, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 9 |
Public backs Kew Cottages
battle |
HWT |
August
8, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 10 |
Kew Cottages Coalition
accused of ulterior
motive |
ABC |
August
8, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 8 |
Bracks, the developers'
friend |
AGE |
August
7, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 6 |
Disabled in limbo |
HWT |
August
6, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 7 |
Kew Cottages a social
battlefield |
AUS |
August
6, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 5 |
Kew Cottages redevelopment
to go ahead |
AGE |
August
5, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 4 |
Request to protect VicUrban |
AGE |
July
8, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 3 |
Inside the world of a
passionate fighter |
AGE |
June
22, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 2 |
Bracks should think again
on Kew cottages |
AGE |
June
12, 2003 |
[More..] |
| 1 |
Looking for a place to call
home |
AGE |
November
25, 2002 |
[More..] |
Note: External links (eg: to HWT/Herald
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