CHANGES to Victoria's planning laws that could sideline councils and allow controversial developments to be fast-tracked will be delayed until after the November election.
In a written statement, Mr Madden said that while all parties agreed reform was needed, "there were divergent views on the specific areas of reform, particularly in the key areas of projects of state significance, fast-track planning permits and the role of independent town planners".
MARY Delahunty's memoirs, according to Melissa Fyfe in The Sunday Age last week, include confirmation of what resident groups have long suspected - that developers have had the ear of government after substantial donations to the Labor Party.
Resident groups are incensed by the insulting, virtually defamatory way Delahunty speaks about them. But also thrilled.
Perhaps the mud stirred with this book might unearth some horrible truths behind the very closed doors of government. Hopefully the spray from these memoirs will redirect media attention to the scale of the problem.
THE Windsor Hotel redevelopment affair could blow up before November's state election, with key upper house MPs contemplating the arrest of senior government advisers for contempt of Parliament.
The non-Labor parties are expected to use their numbers in the upper house to order the advisers to give sworn evidence about whether Premier John Brumby and Planning Minister Justin Madden were involved in an attempt to corrupt planning laws.
The upper house committee investigating the affair yesterday condemned Attorney-General Rob Hulls and Mr Madden for their roles, as the Ombudsman continued a confidential inquiry into the planning process for the $260 million revamp of the heritage hotel in Spring Street.
COMMUNITY and local government groups have attacked a big jump in the number of planning matters the state government has seized control of.
Planning Minister Justin Madden intervened in 44 per cent more planning matters in the 12 months to April this year compared with the previous year.
In justifying the planning takeovers, the government did not argue that the interventions were about better planning outcomes.
Mr Wood said he was concerned about the high number of government planning interventions at a time when developers were donating heavily to the Labor Party.
"Planning is about planning cities, it is not about economic issues."
Post a Message 
