REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
LATROBE PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C79
The Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act), 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, 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.
Latrobe City Council requested Ministerial intervention to rezone land associated with
the Moe Rail Precinct Revitalisation Project, (MRRRP), from Commercial 1 Zone and
Public Use Zone 4 (Transport) to Public Use Zone 6 (Local Government). The
amendment will allow Council to use, develop and carry out associated buildings and
works, in accordance with the adopted Moe Rail Precinct Revitalisation Project
(MRPRP) Concept Plan.
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 Act and the regulations in respect to Amendment C79 to the Latrobe Planning
Scheme.
3.
Section 20(4) of the Act 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.
The Amendment rezones land under Council ownership or management at the Moe
railway station ground from Commercial 1 Zone and Special Use Zone 4 (Transport)
to Public Use Zone 6 (Local Government).
6.
The amendment will facilitate implementation of the Moe activity centre plan in
respect of the Moe station precinct revitalisation.
7.
Transit city precincts, (including the Moe activity centre plan), were introduced into
the Latrobe Planning Scheme in September 2007 by the Latrobe Planning Scheme
Amendment C50 and were subject to extensive public consultation processes.
8.
The detailed MRPRP concept was adopted by Council in May 2011. Further public
consultation was undertaken after a Council resolution in December 2012 with a
special meeting of Council being convened on 20 February 2013 to hear from
submitters who wished to address Council directly. Council adopted the MRPRP
concept plan at a special Council meeting on 25 March 2013.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
9.
Exemption will allow the prompt adoption and approval of an amendment to rezone
the land for public purposes. This has been the subject of extended public
consultation processes and will enable the early commencement of stage 1 works for
the MRPRP for which $14.3 million of Federal, State and Council funding has been
announced and/or allocated.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
10. The main effect of exemption is that potentially affected third parties will not have
the opportunity to make submissions about the amendment or have these considered
by an independent panel.
11. The Moe station precinct revitalisation has been the subject of extensive public
consultation before and since the introduction of transit precincts through C50 into
the Latrobe Planning Scheme in 2007. The relevant Council adopted plans over land
owned or controlled through lease agreements by Latrobe City Council are well
known to the local community.
12. Community views have been extensively canvassed with the development plans
proposed for the Moe station ground recognised as having broad community support.
13. It would be unlikely that a different outcome would result through a notification
process as the amendment correctly reflects the current use and public ownership of
the land.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH
EFFECTS ON THIRD PARTIES
14. Exemption of notice will facilitate the early commencement of stage 1 works for the
Moe Rail Precinct Revitalisation Project for which funding has already been
announced and/or allocated and for which broad public consultation has occurred.
15. 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
16. 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 Act and the regulations in respect of Amendment C79 to the Latrobe Planning
Scheme.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
17. I provide the following reasons for my decision under delegated authority to exercise
the power under section 20(4) of the Act.
18. 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 correctly zones Council controlled land at the Moe railway
station ground; and
 Extensive public consultation regarding the proposed future public use of that
land has been undertaken enabling the views of the community to be known.
SIGNED BY THE DELEGATE
JANE MONK
Director
Planning Statutory Services
Date: 2 January 2014