The Victorian government has set the population target for Fishermans Bend, Australia’s biggest urban regeneration project, at 80,000. In doing so, it has rejected a recommendation from the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) that the target for the 480-hectare site be set at 120,000. From The AFR:
“This framework will make Fishermans Bend a community – rather than a concrete jungle – with schools, public transport and green, open spaces to meet friends and kick a footy, [planning minister Richard Wynne said]”…
“The planning framework is a missed opportunity for Melbourne,” said Danni Addison, the Victorian director of the Urban Development Institute of Australia. “Fishermans Bend is the urban renewal jewel in Melbourne’s crown and taking a population-based approach to planning rather than a good urban outcomes approach to planning will mean we won’t realise the potential of this site, which is so important for future population growth.”
“Realise the potential of this site” is code for packing people in like sardines and maximising the UDIA member’s profits.
This is the standard modus operandi of the ‘growth lobby’: privatise the gains from mass immigration, while socialising the costs on the broader community.
