By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Newly-appointed Planning Minister Lizzie Blandthorn has excluded herself from deciding on a controversial redevelopment proposal at Kingswood Golf Course due to a conflict of interest.
In a further twist in the long-drawn saga, Ms Blandthorn announced she would recuse herself from any planning decision involving or mentioning a client of lobby firm Hawker Britton due to her brother John-Paul Blandthorn being a director.
This includes the protracted and hotly-opposed Kingswood Golf Course application for 823 dwellings, the State Government has confirmed.
The decision will instead be delegated to a yet-to-be-confirmed “alternate minister” over coming months.
The alternate minister and their office will also not have contact with Hawker Britton on planning matters.
The situation was condemned by Save Kingswood Group and the State Opposition.
Save Kingswood Group president Kevin Poulter said the “Government on the fly” juggling would affect the planning decision making in a “bad way”.
“At least when Richard Wynne was Planning Minister, he was a professional with much experience.
“However the solution is simple – Council rejected these plans three times, after expending hundreds of thousands of dollars closely examining the staggering overdevelopment and 8,000 objections were received.
“That should have been the end of it.”
The State Opposition has vowed to reject the project if the Government failed to make a decision prior to the state election.
Opposition planning spokesperson Ryan Smith said the Government had “twisted itself in knots” on dealing with the Hawker Britton conflict issues.
“There are a dozen portfolios that Ms Blandthorn could have been appointed to yet Daniel Andrews, in his wisdom, gave her the one most designed to cause conflict and confusion.
“With Andrews and his government mired neck-deep in corruption allegations, this is yet another example of why the public’s trust in this government is at record lows.”
It spelt even further delays for a decision that had already left concerned residents “in limbo for so long”, Mr Smith said.
A Government spokesperson said Ms Blandthorn “looks forward to continuing to work with local communities to deliver the best planning outcomes for Victorians”.
In 2014, superannuation firm Australian Super bought the 54-hectare course in Dingley Village for $120 million.
An army of 8000 objectors, federal Labor MP Mark Dreyfus and Kingston Council have since opposed the developer’s plans.
They’ve argued against the loss of vast green space, increased flooding risk, and traffic congestion.
The developer’s plans to rezone the fairways as well as gain a planning permit for a housing estate were heard at a state planning advisory committee hearing in 2021.
The committee’s report was handed to then-Planning Minister Richard Wynne in March. He didn’t announce a decision before his sudden departure from the Cabinet in June.
