As a public official it is sometimes difficult to disclose everything being done behind the scenes for the community. There’s a lot of politics involved, rules and laws regarding privacy, confidentiality, planning, Councillor conduct and more. This means that sometimes issues come up where I work behind the scenes to respond and resolve issues for residents, local businesses and groups, but can’t always share everything I do.

One such example is in relation to the issue of people living in properties located on land zoned for industrial use, that is immediately adjacent to a Major Hazard Facility (Mobil) and has a number of other health and safety issues that increase the risk for people living there. I am referring to Techno Park Drive in Williamstown North (the area some locals remember as Wiltona or the old Migrant Hostel).

I was born in Altona and lived locally all my life. It was news to me when my Councillor colleagues and I were advised last year that people were living in Techno Park Drive. I appreciate another Councillor said that they always knew this, but I certainly didn’t.

As confirmed by the CEO in a recent public Council meeting, Councillors were all advised of this situation at the same time, we were all given the same information and the enforcement action was not a decision made by the Mayor and Councillors. This was a decision purely made by the Planning Department and had Councillors tried overriding the council’s Planning Department we would have been in breach of the Local Government Act.

That said, as Mayor I wanted to work with all parties and work to find a solution to resolve this issue. I didn’t want to see people evicted or homeless, and even explored the possibility of having the land rezoned.

I met with residents living in Techno Park Drive. At first they welcomed me and other Councillors as we discussed their plight, but this changed very quickly as they started to work with one Councillor who turned this into a political and media frenzy. The residents at Techno Park Drive then started to attack me in their posts, which I understand to an extent as their homes were being threatened. However, their attacks were misplaced because I was (and am) an ally. So were the other Councillors.

My canvassing of the possibility of rezoning the Techno Park area included discussions with council officers, the CEO and local MPs and was documented in a letter from me (as Mayor) to the Minister for Planning on 20 July 2023. The local Member of Parliament, Melissa Horne was cc’d in that letter along with the council CEO and council Director responsible for Planning. That letter stated:

“Council has received a number of questions from landowners and occupants at Techno Park, as well as other stakeholders, about whether the land at Techno Park could be rezoned to allow residential uses – whether through a rezoning or a specific controls overlay. Council’s advice to date has been that the move would be extremely unlikely to be entertained by the State, given the current Industrial 1 zoning and the immediate proximity to an MHF which is also a site of strategic significance to the state. It would also be very likely to be opposed by Mobil and other authorities such as WorkSafe.

We recognise there is a formal process to put forward Planning Scheme Amendments to the Minister, and that work to justify any amendment to allow residential uses has not been undertaken. However in this case, Council would appreciate any early guidance you could give as the responsible Minister as to whether there would be any scenario where you could support an amendment process to allow residential uses at Techno Park.

This would help to give greater certainty to a number of stakeholders and community members who are advocating for this change, including through a petition tabled in the Council chamber on 11 July 2023 which Council will formally respond to. Council is keen to work with the State to ensure that our work is consistent.“

It is important to note that Council cannot rezone land or approve a control overlay, as that is outside of our authority. The intention of the letter was to see whether the Minister would consider rezoning the land or permitting a specific controls overlay in the first instance, so that council could then pursue that as a potential solution.

The Ministers response to my letter, dated 10 October 2023, was as follows:

Ministerial Direction 1 – Potentially Contaminated Land refers to land that has

1. used or known to have been used for industry;
2. used or known to have been used for the storage of chemicals, gas, waste or liquid fuel (other than minor above-ground storage that is ancillary to another use of the land); or
3. where a known past or present activity or event (occurring on or off the land) may have caused contamination on the land.

“Ministerial Direction 19 – Amendments that may Significantly Impact the Environment, Amenity and Human Health” requires planning authorities (i.e. Council) to seek early advice from EPA when undertaking strategic planning processes and preparing planning scheme amendments that may significantly impact Victoria’s environment, amenity and/or human health due to pollution and waste. 

The Council’s Planning Department subsequently engaged in discussions with the EPA which I understand is ongoing. The latest correspondence to the EPA and WorkSafe Victoria available to me is as follows:

In addition to that correspondence, council is addressing planning issues with the Minister for Planning as shown in this correspondence:

Importantly, the council’s Planning Department has put any enforcement in relation to people living in Techno Park Drive on hold and have encouraged them to apply for certificates to assess their existing use rights as a result of the February 2024 changes by the Minister for Planning for all Planning Schemes (noting that there may be building law, emergency management and safety implications for their homes).

As you can see from the above, as a Councillor or Mayor, I have advocated for residents living in Techno Park, and the Council is working to help them in every way possible. It is easy to drum up panic and media frenzy, but it is unhelpful, does not achieve results and is not what genuine community leadership and support is about.