🟠 Fast-track pushback

Also: Fossil fuel go-slow and food court memories

Author

Matthew Sims
July 24, 2026

⏱️ The 155th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.

Hi there 👋 

Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.

🎤 Boroondara’s council meeting on Monday night saw two MPs speak to the chamber — state Hawthorn MP John Pesutto and federal Kooyong MP Dr Monique Ryan.

It’s rare for MPs at state or federal level to appear in council meetings.

🏗️ The issue that brought them there was a proposal for a 16-storey housing tower along Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn, put forward via the State Government’s fast-track development approval process, which largely takes the decision-making process away from councils and places it in the hands of Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny.

📬 If you would be affected by this development, or any proposal across Melbourne’s east, let me know by email [email protected].

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Today, we’re covering:

“Once this land is developed, we will never get another opportunity like this.”

Whitehorse mayor Kirsten Langford said the State Government’s decision to approve plans for the Box Hill Brickworks site, which would require five percent of the seven hectares be retained as open space was “incredibly disappointing”.

WHAT’S COMING UP 🎟️

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

Boroondara council is taking the State Government to the Supreme Court over the Planning Minister's approval of an 18-storey development in Kew.

It is the latest escalation in an ongoing fight over a fast-track planning program that bypasses councils and limits residents' input into major developments.

Boroondara council is opposing three projects: a 16-storey, 78-dwelling mixed-use tower on Glenferrie Road in Hawthorn, a 76-dwelling apartment development across three buildings in Surrey Hills and four mixed-use towers up to 18 storeys on the former Leo’s Supermarket site in Kew.

Under the Development Facilitation Program (DFP), the Planning Minister is the final decision-maker on major developments, bypassing council planning processes and public consultation and committing to approving projects within four months.

Boroondara council has recently criticised the DFP, arguing it threatens heritage, neighbourhood character and affordable housing outcomes.

Residents remain concerned, particularly about overshadowing.

Churchill Grove resident Anthony Day said the proposed Hawthorn development would leave his home facing a 12.5-metre wall just 1.5 metres from his rear boundary.

Speaking at a council meeting on Monday, Liberal Hawthorn MP John Pesutto urged the council to oppose the DFP "in the most emphatic position it possibly can", while Independent Kooyong MP Monique Ryan described one approval as "bewildering and confounding".

“The incredibly brief period of consultation … speaks to the State Government's reluctance to involve communities in decision-making of this sort,” Ryan told the chamber.

The Hawthorn and Kew proposals are being assessed through the DFP, meaning the council can only make submissions and objecting residents cannot appeal through VCAT.

The Minister has already approved the Kew project, prompting the council's Supreme Court challenge.

A State Government spokesperson said the DFP was needed to deliver more housing close to transport, schools and jobs.

“The status quo is not an option,” the spokesperson said. “We need to deliver more housing choice close to trains, trams, schools and jobs. Well-connected suburbs like Kew can't stay locked up forever.”

The council is now waiting to enter into Supreme Court proceedings to overturn the Kew approval, while decisions on the Hawthorn and Surrey Hills proposals now rest with the Planning Minister.

Victoria’s Planning Minister has approved plans for 95 percent of the seven-hectare Box Hill Brickworks to be used for housing of 10 storeys or higher or other developments.

The decision has drawn criticism from residents, Whitehorse Council and local MPs, who argue the land should be used as passive open space.

The Box Hill site operated as a brickworks from 1884 and, between 1988 and 1999, the former quarry was filled with construction and demolition waste, excavated soil, rock, green waste and inert industrial and household waste.

In 2001, a clay cap was installed to contain contamination.

According to an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) spokesperson, other efforts to manage the landfill included a gas management system and a long-term maintenance and response plan.

A 2006 EPA audit found residential or other sensitive uses were not appropriate on the land before the introduction of a management plan. However, another audit in 2019 determined that all of the site was suitable for medium to high-density residential land uses.

The land was identified in 2025 as a future mixed-use neighbourhood under the Suburban Rail Loop East plans.

Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny approved the final structure plan in June, as well as planning scheme amendments for the precinct.

Under the approved plans, buildings of up to 10 storeys can be built around the site's edge, with taller buildings possible in the centre. Only five percent of the land must remain open space.

North-Eastern Metropolitan MP Richard Welch described the decision as “bad urban planning and a betrayal of future generations”.

Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association co-convenor Vincent Mennilli said the community remained concerned about the site's stability and the cost of making it suitable for development.

“The environmental risks are great – with mass excavation of the site and the drilling of multiple piles to reach solid ground at the base of the 40-metre-deep former quarry,” he said.

Co-convenor Greg Buchanan said the group was “undaunted” by the decision and would continue campaigning for the site to become passive open space.

The association is holding a rally at Surrey Park Drive on Sunday August 23 from 1:30pm.

Developers can now prepare a master plan under the amended planning scheme, with the Planning Minister, rather than Whitehorse Council, acting as the decision-maker.

Box Hill Brickworks site cleared for high-rise buildings taller than 10 storeys, ignoring council and resident opposition

“Once this land is developed, we will never get another opportunity like this.”

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🇦🇺 A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Fossil fuel donors back nuclear, to buy 15 more years for coal

Nuclear power is supposed to compete directly with coal and gas. So why would fossil fuel companies support it, or back the politicians pushing for nuclear in Australia?

Instead of denying climate change outright, a Senate inquiry in March found, these days, fossil fuel companies are buying time by delaying action on it instead.

Between October 2025 and February 2026, coal plants in NSW and Victoria had a quarter of their capacity offline on average at any given time. Queensland wasn't much better, at 24 percent.

When coal goes offline, the grid leans harder on gas, one of the most expensive ways to generate power, and that cost flows through to household bills.

Archie Milligan from the National Account took a look into why fossil fuel companies are championing nuclear energy.

🍜 Finally: A reader reached out recently, asking me to look into the Grove Dining Hall at Croydon Central, a “food court” style place to grab a bite and sit down. Opened in 2020 as part of the shopping centre’s $20 million redevelopment, the last business left — Dumpling Folks — recently closed down for good, leaving the area just an empty place to sit down and eat food from elsewhere.

🔐 Did you ever visit The Grove when it was busy? What do you think led to businesses closing up? If you want to share your opinion, please email us via [email protected].

That’s all from me this time.

Cheers,

Matthew