State Mandates Growth and Forgets Infrastructure for Mansfield

State Mandates Growth and Forgets Infrastructure for Mansfield

Published on 03 October 2025

Mansfield Shire Council has called on the State Government to provide a clear roadmap for how it can provide adequate infrastructure to communities since being told the community will have to grow by 3,900 new homes by 2051.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said that after being handed a target to facilitate 3,900 new homes by 2051, now included in the Mansfield Planning Scheme with no consultation or implementation plan, Council was questioning whether the state has the capacity to provide the infrastructure a community of that size needs.

"Right now, we don't have the roads or the roundabouts our community expects in a population of our current size," said Cr Rabie.

"We are lobbying the government every day already - how will they resource the infrastructure needed to support 3,900 more new homes, when our community can barely drive on a state road today without swerving to miss potholes?

"The Planning Minister has issued a statement saying that Council's planning powers will be taken away if Council does not work to deliver this target.

"Think about it - 3,900 additional homes. We need urgent answers on critical infrastructure questions. How will our community be assured it can get enough water? Enough power? What about roads? Already the State's road infrastructure and road maintenance is under pressure and struggling to support the population we already have. Our community is already asking us, how will we support so many more?

"We submitted feedback asking exactly these questions and we never received a response. It takes more than homes to build a community. What about schools, medical services and public transport? What about the impact on our hospital, which we had to fight to save from amalgamation last year? Will these services receive adequate funding? What about parking and roundabouts, emergency services facilities, traffic management and upgrades of key intersections?

The final target was officially included in all Victorian planning schemes in early September, increased from a draft target of 3,700 that Council had previously questioned without receiving a response.

Mayor Cr Steve Rabie said the target was handed down without any meaningful engagement with Council or the community, and critical questions about infrastructure funding and delivery remain unanswered.

"This has all been done in secret. There's been no consultation, no discussion. We received a letter telling us what we must do, but nobody is telling us what will be done by the State Government to support it," Cr Rabie said.

"We're not against growth - Mansfield is one of the best places in Victoria to live, and people want to be here. We get it. We're the best little Shire in Australia if you ask me. But you can't force growth without the infrastructure to support it.

Cr Rabie said the target fails to address the real housing pressures, noting that while Council has been approving land for development, it cannot force construction. Council has already approved over 265 new residential lots across several subdivisions in Mansfield township which are now ready for developers to begin construction, however only one of these has commenced works.

"Developments been approved by Council - but for a range of reasons they haven't been built. We can't control this. We are also not the water authority needing to support these homes with water and sewer connections. The housing market is under pressure for homes, not for blocks of developable land. So, opening up land doesn't fix the housing problem.

Mansfield currently has approximately 6,900 houses across the shire. The mandated increase of an additional 3,900 houses will mean an increase of over 56% in the housing supply over the next 26 years.

Cr Rabie said the State Government's approach lacked the transparency and community consultation that Council prioritises in all its planning decisions.

"We consult our community. We listen and we act. When we do our planning and master plans for different areas, such as the Delatite Valley Plan, we talk to people and to other government agencies and we update it based on what they tell us," he said.

"No one has been listened to here. This is just a statement from Melbourne saying 'you will have 3,900 new homes by 2051.' Well, please explain to our community how you got to that figure? Why 3,900? Why not less? It's astounding how this is happening.

"What's even more frustrating is the State Government coming out and threatening that if Councils don't deliver on the housing targets, the State will take over planning. Well, please tell us how we're supposed to do this. Please tell us how you're going to support us to support our communities."

Cr Rabie said Council operates on five planning pillars: keep it country, keep it local, keep it transparent, keep it fair, and keep it simple.

"If you love where you're living, get involved. This is your Shire. This is your state. We need to be listened to, and right now, we're not being heard," said Cr Rabie.

"We're calling on the Minister and the Premier to let our community know what plans they have to deliver the infrastructure, public transport and emergency facilities for a community of this size?"

Council is calling on the state government to undertake transparent and genuine consultation with communities and local government before making changes to the planning scheme through the secretive bill expected in Parliament this October.

Council is also asking the community to stand against these secretive and top-down planning practices by contacting their elected representatives.

• Planning