Confusion, lack of explanation, "on the nose"...

A great article by Clay Lucas in the Age on Saturday deserves a read. A few quotes:


"[Footscray resident] Illich... has been bewildered by the lack of open process behind the probable demolition of the 440-square-metre warehouse conversion her family settled on in April...Illich knows the railways need improvement, and does not want to be portrayed as being only interested in her backyard. She just wants to know why the process for deciding where a new rail line would go was so secretive.

"As Footscray residents learnt this week, the government's plans appear to evolve rather than be carefully evaluated and publicly reviewed. Projects such as the Regional Rail Link, which gained federal funding last year, are rammed through without much explanation, while others such as a freeway link between the Eastern Freeway and CityLink are ignored or put in the ''long-term'' basket.

"...Victoria [is] bucking the world trend on planning big projects. ''Normal practice is to go in for full public consultation, including involving the public in writing the brief for the studies. That is the way that has been found over time to reduce the amount of concern and reduce the potential political backlash at a later date.''

"Melbourne University transport academic John Stone did his PhD on ''community consultation''. He says the chaotic scenes this week as residents learned from reporters that their homes could be swept away are a direct result of the government being so guarded about releasing information."