Local community fights monstrous developments in the middle of treasured parklands

Linda Bennett and Rodney Sparke from Scaleitdown talk about their campaign against eight and ten-story developments in the midst of Brunswick parklands.     They describe how the developers , Stocklands and Mirvac, have by-passed local government and taken their proposals straight to the Victorian Government.     This means that community members opposing the developments have to take their case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), a highly legalistic and technical process requiring expensive specialist expertise. Linda and Rodney describe the gross power imbalance in this process, and how the community has come together nevertheless to stave off the developments.   Campaign link: https://www.scaleitdown.org/