REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
HUME PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C151
The Planning and Environment Act 1987, the Heritage Act 1995 and the Victorian Civil
and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 provide for the intervention of the Minister for
Planning in planning and heritage processes.
In exercising the Minister’s powers of intervention, including action taken under delegation
from the Minister for Planning, in accordance with the Ministerial Powers of Intervention in
Planning and Heritage Matters Practice Note, the Minister has agreed to:

Make publicly available written reasons for each decision; and

Provide a report to Parliament at least every twelve months detailing the nature of
each intervention.
REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION
1. The Growth Areas Authority have requested the Minister for Planning to exempt
himself from the notice requirements in accordance with section 20(4) of the Planning
and Environment Act 1987 and prepare, adopt and approve Amendment C151 to the
Hume Planning Scheme.
WHAT POWER OF INTERVENTION IS BEING USED?
2.
Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exercise
the power to exempt the Minister from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the regulations in respect to
Amendment C151 to the Hume Planning Scheme.
3.
Section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 enables the Minister for
Planning to exempt an amendment which the Minister prepares from any of the
requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act or the regulations.
4.
In seeking to exercise this power, section 20(4) of the Act requires that the Minister
must consider that compliance with any of those requirements is not warranted or
that the interests of Victoria or any part of Victoria make such an exemption
appropriate.
BACKGROUND
5.
Amendment C151 to the Hume Planning Scheme alters cross-section 9 of the
Craigieburn R2 Precinct Structure Plan and makes other consequential changes to
the Precinct Structure Plan and the Hume Planning Scheme.
6.
The amendment will correct an anomaly and reflect an agreement reached between
the Growth Areas Authority and the Department of Transport during the Panel
process for Amendment C120, which first introduced the Precinct Structure Plan into
the scheme.
7.
Hume City Council were consulted about this amendment and have not objected to
the proposed changes.
8.
The Department of Transport have requested the Growth Areas Authority correct the
error. The proposed changes are consistent with the correspondence of the
Department of Transport provided to Panel.
The Growth Areas Authority
inadvertently omitted the changes at the time of adoption.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
9.
The main benefit of the exemption will be that it will enable a prompt decision on the
adoption and approval of the amendment.
10. The amendment is an inconsequential correction to the cross-section and does not
alter the overall widths of the shared carriageway. The removal of a nominated width
for the bicycle lane portion of the carriageway is consistent with the Public Transport
Guidelines.
11. The amendment will contribute to the fair and orderly development of land in
accordance with Section 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 by ensuring
that the planning scheme is consistent with the Department of Transport’s Public
Transport Guidelines.
This in turn ensures that the development of the
neighbourhood activity centre and its connector street is not compromised.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
12. The effect of the exemption is that third parties will not have an opportunity to make a
submission or be heard by a Panel in relation to the amendment.
13. The views of the Department of Transport, which have requested the amendment,
and the Council are known. There are no other parties who made submissions to the
Panel with respect to this cross-section.
14. It is unlikely that the outcome of this amendment would be changed if it were to go
through a public exhibition or a Panel process.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH EFFECTS
ON THIRD PARTIES
15. The amendment is an inconsequential correction that does not alter the width of the
shared carriageway.
16. It is considered that there will be negligible impact on third parties whose views are
not known, such as landowners, as the ultimate width of the connector street remains
unchanged.
17. The amendment is an inconsequential correction and will clarify and update the
Hume Planning Scheme to ensure that it complies with the Department of Transport’s
Public Transport Guidelines for Land Use and Development 2008 as it relates to
connector streets.
18. Accordingly I, acting under delegation from the Minister, consider that the benefits of
exemption from sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the
exemption on third parties.
DECISION
19. Under delegated authority from the Minister for Planning I have decided to exercise
the power to exempt the Minister from all the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the regulations in respect of
Amendment C151 to the Hume Planning Scheme.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
20. In accordance with the Ministerial Powers of Intervention in Planning and Heritage
Matters Practice Note I provide the following reasons for my decision under
delegated authority to exercise the power under section 20(4) of the Planning and
Environment Act 1987.
21. I, acting under delegation from the Minister, am satisfied that Compliance with any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the
regulations is not warranted
because:
 The amendment will give effect to an outcome where the issues have been
reasonably considered and the views of affected parties are known.
 The amendment will not raise issues of fairness or public interest where a simple
inconsequential correction is required.
Signed by the Delegate
DAVID HODGE
Executive Director
State Planning Services and Urban Development
Date: 28 March 2011