Planning Backlash is an "umbrella" for co-ordinated action by a wide range of groups across city, country and coast concerned with innappropriate planning in Victoria.
Planning Backlash has supported the development of this site to inform people interested in ensuring that development planning supports "quality of life".
Each group in the Planning Backlash network has its own planning and development issues but all have common concerns with the State Government’s planning processes and strategies. Currently the network connects over 100 groups and is continually increasing.
PLANNING BACKLASH believes that city, coast and country are becoming scarred with insensitive and unrepresentative developments which are being built to benefit developers and to pacify political impatience.
PLANNING BACKLASH groups are not bonded by politics or geography but united in passion, expertise and resilience regarding our collective opposition to the inappropriate development happening in our communities.
Some of the many organisations supporting Planning Backlash are:
Dear fellow Residents,
I, and all the residents in our building at 260 Little Collins Street are having constant problems with noise from a variety of sources. The MCC seem to care very little, and do not monitor their contractors, street performers or special events in the area.
Last night a Fringe performance began at midnight and went to 3 a.m. with no regard for residents on the other side of the street or local laws. The police were called but did nothing because they had 'a permit' from MCC to be there at that time and were allowed to perform at whatever noise level they themselves or the police deemed as acceptable. No-one seemed to understand or care about noise and nuisance to residents.
Regardless of whether the MCC has granted a permit or not, local law needs to be observed, and beyond that, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This type of event in a known residential area contravenes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with regard to articles 24 and 25 and our own basic human rights to:
"a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family"article 25
and our right to "rest and leisure", article 24.
The granting of a permit by the MCC also contravenes the World Health Organization 2009 Guidelines which were developed to protect people's health from night noise pollution.
Neither the police or the MCC are protecting residents from noise, in fact, they are encouraging it , as a very unsophisticated way of 'making Melbourne more international'. What a joke. They don't understand that those other international cities have measures in place to ensure the human rights of the residents are protected and are of primary concern.
As Melbourne grows and develops this issue will continue to become more and more destructive, and will become a major health concern for all CBD residents.
I'm drawing a line in the sand now.
I am starting a class action against the MCC for failure to enforce its Municipal Council Obligations according to the The Charter of Human Rights, and invite all affected by night noise to join me.
Please feel free to contact me on 0411 390 692
Jacqui Stocks
Hope it works. I have major problems with noise pollution too, from increased truck traffic. They think it's OK to ram their horns, even at night when any imbecile can tell that people in a densely-populated area with lots of blocks of flats (Power St Hawthorn) might be trying to sleep. Not much chance of that without earplugs. I also have problems with excessive noise pollution from St Anthony's church in Hawthorn, who ring their bells for up to NINETEEN MINUTES at a time, and can cause noise-induced illness. My complaint to the Boroondara Council was met with no assistance (apparently even ringing their bells for a quarter of an hour or more is "of short duration") and now I've complained to the EPA, who sent me an unintelligible document saying that "Compliance with the requirements of this policy shall be mandatory except in cases where music noise is emitted as a result of recognised religious observance" – which appears to mean they can have fun wrecking people's health with noise pollution and get away with it because they're a religious institution. I'm not giving up, though. This is war.
The MCC are a joke. It's as if they want to encourage people to be loud, obnoxious and selfish. They also hand out permits to sales reps to harass people on the street, block their path, try to intimidate them into buying whatever crap they're selling, etc. I complained to them about one bastard of a sales rep last year, but I don't recall that they expressed any concern or apology. I hope they have to pay you big time.
Judith Loriente
Pity that these developments don't need to meet the requirements of the public, the ratepayers and tax-payers. The only way we can stop is through our votes!
PLANNING BACKLASH is a network of more than 140 Resident Action
Groups right across Melbourne Metropolitan area, along the coast and into
the country, all very concerned about the effect the Government’s flawed
Planning Policy known as Melbourne 2030 is having on the liveability of
their areas. They believe that the Government has -
"an erroneous belief that they can keep overloading the infrastructure with yet more people. It is also understood that the Government see increase of population as the way to keep the economy strong as most manufacturing has gone offshore and all we make now is buildings".
Thus people need to be imported to live here and help create profits for developers and investors. The rising crime and assault rates, and murders, is directly related to our fast rising population growth, all for the benefit of real estate developers and investors. The "prosperity" that bigger populations are supposed to bring is a lie, and is actually making the great majority worse off financially and in live ability.
It is purely a myth that population growth brings prosperity. The wealthiest countries are ones with fewer people, except for the USA which is sliding down in debts. Population growth brings environmental destruction, rising social tension and dis-ease, and thus more crime, misfits and tensions. Our government on all levels are in mutual agreement to continue to populate Australia, fearing some invasion? We the public have no say over what is happening in our cities, or we get called "nimby" when we protest. We need more nimbys! With more people, our national wealth is shared by more people, and each person gets less of the pie, and less democratic rights. Politicians avoid answering these issues if you ask them!
totally agree!
With the extremely bad management of the peoples assets there is no doubt what so ever, the working people are the tax base of Aust. even the much my-lined pensioner is a contributor to tax by G.S.T. by over priced essential services, but to price people out of there homes by local Gov exorbitant charges and bad planning practices, for profit and run with no enhancement what so ever for traffic planning. All I can say is, Brumby you have to go, and Rudd, you are a DUD, at the last Federal election the Aust. public, paid 22 million to the labour party for primary votes, and look what we got, ego's that can;t stay in Aust. to manage it in the most appropriate manner for the safety and protection of the people, as it is totally, our money that being wasted, with the con statement of, we are acting in the most appropriate manner for the people. ( like hell. ) The 6 figure income contracts plus perks and pleasures in local Gov. seriously needs intervention, as money has a funny effect on some people, and the decisions they make.