DECEMBER 17, 2019 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
Ready for Christmas
(Shawn Smits) 201791_06
It’s the season to sing carols and make your house shine bright with Christmas lights. Angie and Carter, 15 months, are already getting into the festive spirit as they count down to Christmas Day. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year from all at Star Weekly.
Council mosque handball By Ewen McRae Melton councillors have baulked at making a decision on a planning application for a mosque in Harkness, calling on the planning minister to make the decision for them. The application from the Melbourne Islamic Centre for a place of worship at 171 Harkness Road has come before council in various forms since July 2012, with delays caused by appeals toVCAT, further community consultation, and soil stability testing. The most recent delay was due to extensive soil testing to determine if the land was suitable
to be developed. A report determined that the council “should place little to no weight on ‘land subsidence’ in determining whether or not to grant a permit”. While council officers recommended that the permit for the mosque be approved at last week’s general meeting, a motion from Cr Ken Hardy to request the minister to make the decision on the application was successful. “The planning act does allow the responsible authority, being council, to ask the minister to look at this issue in respect that there are geo-physical issues that we do not have the knowledge of, and there are other issues that
only the minister can look at and make a determination,” Cr Hardy said. “These are things that are outside of the planning act, and that’s why I would ask this to be referred on to the minister.” Council chief executive Kelvin Tori said he could not recall the council ever calling in the minister to decide a planning application. Cr Bob Turner objected to sending the matter to the minister. “I’m very disappointed that we can’t make a decision in this chamber,” he said. “That’s what we’re elected to do, we’re elected for the four years to make the best decisions we
can. We won’t always be 100 per cent correct, but we’ve got to do the best with the skills we’ve got. “It’s sad to see some councillors, whenever there’s something they’re not happy with, that they’re scared to make a decision. “We’ve got a piece of land there that some see as useless, and we have someone who’s willing to take it over and build a facility on that land, whatever that facility is, if it is engineered correctly it will be better for the land.” The alternative motion was passed, with only Cr Turner and Cr Yvonne Sebire voting against it.
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