Melbourne for Sale

In this special edition of Melbourne for Sale, we bring you a live recording from Fair Growth Thornbury’s event, Past Lessons, Future Choices, held at Thornbury Picture House.The evening brought together MPs, election candidates, community, councillors, media, and leading voices in planning and urban design for a serious, election-year conversation about Victoria’s housing future.The panel features:Dr Katherine Sundermann, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design, Monash UniversityMike Scott, Planner and Urban Designer, Charter 29Rebecca Finn, Director and Co-founder, UrbanFold; Joint President, Urban Design Forum AustraliaThe discussion covers the realities of housing supply, the limits of a purely “supply-led” approach to affordability, the role of social and affordable housing, and the importance of infrastructure, planning quality, and community input in shaping Melbourne’s growth.A consistent theme emerges: Melbourne needs more housing — but it needs to be done properly, with better planning, better policy, and a clearer focus on long-term outcomes.

This episode of Melbourne for Sale follows the original Volume 2 article's framing to examine what happens when housing policy focuses on dwelling totals while ignoring the kinds of homes households actually need.Nathan Wilson and Evelyn Baker unpack the mismatch between family housing demand and Melbourne’s apartment supply, the incentives pushing developers toward smaller investor-grade units, the replacement of family-suitable homes in Activity Centres, and the broader political economy shaping these planning decisions.Drawing on Fair Growth Thornbury’s research and the attached article, the conversation asks a central question: if Melbourne keeps counting all dwellings as equal, who is the city really being built for?

This episode of Melbourne for Sale walks through Volume 1 of Fair Growth Thornbury’s article series, “Only developers need apply”, in plain language.Hosts Nathan Wilson and Evelyn Baker start with a near‑future picture of Melbourne in 2051: more apartments everywhere, but infrastructure, trees and genuine affordability lagging behind. From there, they unpack how we got here and the forces currently shaping Victoria’s planning agenda.Across the episode, Nathan and Evelyn explore:The origins of Fair Growth Thornbury and what the Thornbury Activity Centre maps revealed about “manufactured consent” in planningHow tight government finances make rezoning and rapid planning reform the “cheap” response to the housing crisisThe rise of a YIMBY, “build, build, build” narrative that reduces housing policy to supply targets while sidelining questions of quality, equity and infrastructureDeveloper and land‑market economics – why rezonings and higher height limits don’t automatically translate into affordable, well‑built homesThe role of activity centres as the main delivery vehicle for rapid upzoning across Melbourne, and what this looks like on the ground in places like ThornburyThe risks of homogenised housing stock, speculative development and displacement of long‑term, often vulnerable residentsInstead of a simple NIMBY vs YIMBY culture war, the episode asks listeners to think about a deeper question: as Melbourne grows, who is the city really being built for?If you’d like to read the full article, search for “Melbourne for Sale – Only developers need apply” on the Fair Growth Thornbury website. Or, if you prefer listening, this episode is your guided audio walk‑through.