Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

BUNGLED RESCODE ANNOUNCEMENT FAILS TO ANSWER KEY QUESTIONS

News Release - Friday, 17th August, 2001

The Government's announcement of August 24 as the official start date for ResCode has left key issues unresolved, the State Opposition said today.

Robert Clark, the Shadow Minister for Planning, said the introduction of ResCode would cause confusion and frustration for councils, residents, planners and builders, as they struggled to cope with the new rules.

"The Minister has given people only 9 days notice of the official starting date and of 13 intended changes to the ResCode rules," Mr Clark said.

"However, even now the official rules under the Building Regulations and the Victorian Planning Provisions have still not been made public.

Mr Clark said three days after the Minister's announcement the Government's official ResCode web site still does not show the August 24 start date, nor does it contain any details of last minute changes or any other updated information.

"Despite the Minister's claims that 'the ResCode website will continue to be maintained with the most recent information on the implementation of the new provisions', the site still lacks important information.

"The Minister has still not issued guidelines to building surveyors giving details of the transition arrangements for existing house designs. The Minister simply says he will do so 'in the near future'. It will need to be a very near future indeed if surveyors are to have these guidelines before the starting date."

Mr Clark said that even the Minister's latest announcement had failed to provide answers on many key questions and concerns about ResCode, including:

• the rules that will apply where a developer applies to a Council to depart from ResCode standards for a single home not requiring a planning permit

• how long neighbours will have in which to make submissions on such applications, given that the Government is requiring Councils to decide these applications within 15 days

• what details of the application neighbours will be entitled to receive

• whether proposed local standards which are part way through the approval process when ResCode commences will be allowed to continue under ResCode

• what procedures the Minister will require Councils to follow, in order to convince the Minister that a neighbourhood is 'special' and thus entitled to a Neighbourhood Character Overlay

• what tests the Minister will apply in deciding whether to agree to the measures the Council wants to include in the Neighbourhood Character Overlay, and

• what procedures will apply for Councils seeking to vary the ResCode schedule of standards for their municipality.

"Good planning is suffering yet again because Victoria has a part-time Planning Minister who is not giving his planning portfolio the attention it needs and deserves," Mr Clark said.