The NIMBYs are out in force in Melbourne's eastern suburbs. They want to stop denser transit-oriented developments near the future Suburban Rail Loop metro station in Burwood:
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/gardiners-creek-is-a-rare-slice-of-urban-bush-the-government-wants-to-build-20-storey-towers-on-its-bank-20250424-p5lty9.html #auspol #vicpol #urbanism #trains #rail
In case you're confused about why there's such strident opposition against the Allan government's plan for more housing density around major activity centres in Melbourne:
"Of the 50 recently announced activity centres, 60 per cent are located in the richest 10 per cent of the state’s local government areas, such as the suburbs of Brighton, Camberwell, Hampton, Hawthorn, Kew Junction, Malvern, Prahran, Glen Huntly and Sandringham.
"Asanka Epa, a Melbourne organiser from pro-housing advocacy group YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard), analysed Victoria’s scheme and found the activity centres are slated for areas that middle-class people had been locked out of, particularly in the inner east.
…
"Epa’s analysis showed the most socially segregated local government area, the City of Boroondara in the inner east, hosted seven of the proposed activity centres.
"Boroondara is among the councils to have slammed the state government’s activity centre plan, and has said it had been sidelined from decision-making processes and feared the changes would forever change the heritage and character of its suburbs."
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/how-building-more-apartments-could-make-these-rich-melbourne-suburbs-more-inclusive-20250421-p5lt56.html
No, the wealthy folks in Brighton, Toorak, and Camberwell don't want ordinary folks living in their neighbourhoods.
Imagine people on regular incomes using their trams, attending their local schools, and walking to their local shops and cafés! Perish the thought!
They want the poors to live in car-dependent outer suburbs out Melton and Berwick way!
#vicpol #auspol #planning #UrbanPlanning #Melbourne
@timrichards @pewnack @ajsadauskas It's amazing how quickly Dutton's supposed Sudanese gang crime wave went away as soon as Matthew Guy lost that election in a landslide
#vicpol #auspol
Victoria: How much are you willing to spend to cancel the Suburban Rail Loop?
https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-much-are-you-willing-to-spend-to-cancel-the-suburban-rail-loop/7c580327-cf22-4c98-aa7d-4d14fffc85f9
This is some shockingly bullshit-hypothetical neocon wish-fulfillment propaganda by the Murdoch media. And it's a colossal self-own for the Victorian LNP.
Why? Because Victorian people love our public transport projects such as Level-Crossing Removal. We want to continue modernising and expanding our train network.
Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News
How handwriting and voter birthdates uncovered two alleged council election frauds
People often suggest that cops are bullies who are just there to defend capital, however it turns out when it comes to their workplace they're basically anarchists.
Name me literally any other group who get to vote on their management.
"The resignation of Shane Patton in February after he received a resounding vote of no-confidence by police union members."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-02/rick-nugent-victoria-police-commissioner/105125270
Sydney Morning Herald - Latest News
Hate speech laws pass parliament as Liberals claim freedom of speech is at risk
Day three:
Dutton is following a long line of #LNP leaders (Howard, Abbott, Morrison) who ditched Canberra to live in Sydney.
“A woman managed to get close to Dutton and unfurl a #banner calling for no new #gas or #nuclear. There’s now been about half a dozen events - mostly hosted by the Coalition - “bird-dogged” by #RisingTide.”
Duttons camp has a leak.
#VicPol / #LNP / #liberal / #MickTsikas/AAP <https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/mar/29/election-2025-live-updates-australia-federal-anthony-albanese-peter-dutton-ntwnfb>
I'm fucking disappointed that the Guardian isn't being better than this. I know that mainstream media is always going to be used to push political agenda, but this is just so blatantly obvious with these headlines occurring within a week of each other.
Victoria isn't in a youth crime crisis.
Youth crime happens - and we know the biggest contributor to crime is poverty (something governments can address, but refuse to).
However, funding programs to address poverty and youth crime won't get votes. Scaring voters and then "tough on crime" rhetoric about "tightening bail laws" (which will put Aboriginal people's lives at risk!) gets votes.
#journalism #Australia #Law #Legal #AustralianLegal #Youth #YouthCrime #Vic #VicPol #Crime #Criminology #CriminalJustice
_____
Tyler Cawthray, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Bond University, has charted the similar narrative of a crime crisis engulfing Queensland, where the Liberal National party won government in October after campaigning on an “adult time for adult crime” policy.
Cawthray said across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, youth crime has generally decreased over the last decade, including during Covid.
Victoria has one of the lowest rates of youth crime in the country, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics data, with only the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia having a rate below it.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/12/bail-laws-victoria-jacinta-allan
Anyone remember that talk I did at @everythingopen on open data and justice reinvestment and kids in the prison system?
Today’s news says Vic govt has cut funding to youth crime prevention programs, while also looking to pass tougher bail laws because of the “youth crime wave”.
We are a society paying for our inability to understand and recover from trauma in our hospitals and prisons.
Anthony Carbines thinks our kids should pay, plus compound interest.
So Brad Battin doesn't hold a hose either eh
‘Nobody’s stopping it’: The taxpayer money trail from building sites to the underworld
(Paywall) https://www.theage.com.au/national/nobody-s-stopping-it-the-taxpayer-money-trail-from-building-sites-to-the-underworld-20250311-p5liph.html
#AusPol #VicPol #VicLaw
"The Victorian Government is committed to improving safety for people walking, bike riders and micromobility users, and has invested significantly in active transport as part of a $20.7 million investment in the 2024-2025 State Budget for critical public and active transport."
$20 million...That's just 1% of the $1.1 billion in state road maintenance funds in that budget year.
How do they expect to transport 25% of the people for 1% of the budget?
The Victorian Government released the their response to the "Inquiry into the impact of road safety behaviours on vulnerable road users report" last week. It's 6 months late.
I'm having a read. An interesting thing that popped up in the first page was "Victoria’s Climate Change Strategy sets a target of net zero emissions by 2045. To help achieve this the Transport Sector Emissions Reduction Pledge aims to increase active transport mode share to 25 per cent by 2030."
If the Victorian Government wants active transport to make up 25 per cent of transport in 2023 then in 2030 they should be investing at least 25 per cent of the transport budget in to active transport and they should be investing more than that in the next 5yrs so as to get the active transport network up up to the point where it can support 25 per cent of trips.
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/roadsafetybehaviours/reports