Media Release

Peter Gutwein MP
Liberal Member for Bass

Tuesday 23rd February 2010

Thorpe must extend deadline on St Leonards housing

The Human Services Minister, Lin Thorpe, is avoiding dealing with the real issues in her latest comments on the St Leonards housing proposal.

The fact is that not only does the local community believe the St Leonards housing project needs further consultation, but so does the Government’s own Social Inclusion Commissioner – the man who was appointed by the Premier to help the Government identify the sources of social exclusion.

The Social Inclusion Commissioner raised a number of concerns on Saturday when he addressed local residents, including:

• the proposed development being a “compressed, low cost, high volume” option that was not in keeping with the current mix of dwellings in the area;
• the development not integrating into the area;
• the distance from local shops and ‘walkability’;
• the lack of services, such as healthcare and transport; and
• the lack of green spaces.

These are serious concerns with serious consequences and it is not good enough for Labor to try and ram this development through without even considering these concerns.

All local residents want is for the comment period to be extended for two months to make sure this development is given the proper consideration it deserves.

If the Minister refuses to allow this, then it will speak volumes about how little Labor is really prepared to listen to the people.