There goes our city and say

Peter Farago
STATE Government slapped Geelong ratepayers in the face this week when it stripped the rights of councillors to have a full say in the city’s planning process.
The Government announced it would seize planning control for the city centre from council, putting decision-making in the hands of a bureaucrat-dominated committee.
The takeover almost entirely removes the community from any decision making on planning the future layout of Geelong’s city centre.
Where ratepayers had access to 12 councillors who voted on contentious proposals, only one councillor will be allowed to sit on new “development assessment committees”, which the government plans to establish to judge planning applications.
The rest of the committee will comprise two State Government nominees, a City official and a Government-appointed “independent” member.
Council has essentially been sidelined in deciding on the future make-up of the city centre, leaving residents with the opportunity of paying to appeal at Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
While City Hall is not considered to be a white knight in planning and development circles, at least landowners and residents, be they applicants or objectors, had a direct say through their elected representatives.
Now they will be uncomfortable in the knowledge that bureaucrats who might have no knowledge of the history of our city will be in control of its planning destiny.
City Hall’s bureaucracy and councillors who keep it in check ensured that Geelong people were custodians of their own destiny.
The Government’s committee system takes that away.
But it does something else.
It puts at question State Government’s opinion of whether City Hall can competently run Geelong’s planning system, especially around the Western Wedge precinct.
The Labor Government has been at pains to distance itself from questions over the transparency of City Hall’s planning system.
Former Local Government Minister Candy Broad was dragged, almost kicking and screaming, to call municipal inspector Merv Whelan to inquire into the cash-for-councillors scandal in which prominent business identities – some with significant planning applications on the table – funded the election campaigns of mainly Labor council candidates.
Cr David Saunderson was later convicted of not declaring his campaign donations.
Later, the state Ombudsman ruled that City Hall’s planning system was open to perceptions of corruption and recommended changes to its operation – all implemented by the council.
Last month police said there was “insufficient evidence” to continue investigating former Member for Corio Gavan O’Connor’s accusations of alleged illegal activity within council.
Premier John Brumby backs the planning takeover citing a recent audit of his Government’s Melbourne 2030 plan – which did not consider Geelong – that found councils were lagging to address the city’s population boom.
But now a government spokesperson said Geelong’s council was included in the planning takeover because central Geelong was a “transit city”.
Mayor Bruce Harwood scoffs at that excuse, citing completion of Western Wedge and Central Geelong structure plans and seeking comment on Urban Design Guidelines.
So where it seems City Hall is near top of the class after doing its homework, principal Brumby still thinks council should be in lunchtime detention.
If Geelong is on target to welcome population growth, what else are residents supposed to think is really behind the Government decision?