Our Neighbourhoods
Built right. Built to last.
Melbourne is growing, housing affordability is a real crisis, and our ward is well-connected, walkable, and vibrant. It will be part of the solution.
The question was never whether South Yarra grows. It is whether it grows in a way that works for the people already living here, and the thousands who will arrive.
Getting that right means ensuring growth is properly planned, properly resourced, beautifully designed, and genuinely climate-resilient. That is the work I really care about.
Planning and Development
South Yarra can grow. But, it must grow well.
Stonnington Council's Housing Strategy, developed with our community through years of evidence-based planning, already provides capacity for over 67,000 new dwellings across the municipality. That exceeds the State Government's own target for Stonnington by 17,000 homes.
Our community is not against growth.
What it is against, and what I am against, is growth imposed at speed, without the schools, parks, drainage, and transport investment that new residents will need. Without design standards that protect liveability. Without a genuine community voice.
In 2025, the State Government announced its Activity Centre Program: a fast-tracked rezoning of land around 60 Melbourne train and tram stations, including South Yarra, Hawksburn, Toorak, Windsor, Prahran, and Armadale. The program proposes 4 to 6 storeys, and up to 12 or more near stations, across catchments extending 1km from each station. That is not a targeted uplift. That is a blanket rezoning of all of residential South Yarra Ward.
Stonnington's Plan delivers 17,000 more homes than the State's
1/3 of all planning changes in Victoria are being forced on Stonnington
Council's response to what is being proposed
Council's Existing Strategies
What the State Government is proposing
Climate and Sustainability
South Yarra's climate future is already in the data.
By the 2030s, daily maximum temperatures in Melbourne are projected to rise by up to 1.6°C. By the 2050s, our climate could resemble today's Wangaratta. More heat days. More intense downpours. More pressure on trees, drainage infrastructure, and the things that make an inner-city neighbourhood liveable.
South Yarra is an urban environment. That means we are acutely exposed to what climate scientists call the heat island effect: our density, our hard surfaces, our limited canopy, all amplify the heat and flooding risks that come with a changing climate. We cannot engineer our way out of this after the fact. The time to act is now, while the cost of action is still lower than the cost of inaction.
This is not idealism. It is risk management. Investing in flood mitigation, urban canopy, biodiversity, and clean energy for Council operations reduces costs to ratepayers over time, protects the liveability that makes South Yarra a place people want to live, and insulates the municipality from the growing volatility of energy prices. I have been Chair or Deputy Chair of Stonnington's Climate Emergency Action Committee for three years because I believe the work matters - and because I am prepared to be held accountable for whether we actually deliver it.
Stonnington has already reduced corporate emissions by 82% since the 2005 baseline year
What I've delivered
Planning and Development
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Walked 20km across the ward doing letterbox drops, making sure every resident could find out what was proposed for the Activity Centre changes and how to respond
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Supported Council's formal objection to the State's Tranche 1 Activity Centre plans
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Drove hundreds of community submissions to the State Government engagement process
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Called out the Planning Minister's pattern of overriding Council and VCAT decisions at Burke Road Glen Iris, 674 High Street Prahran, and Cabrini Hospital
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Moved a formal Council letter to the Premier and Minister for Planning opposing the Better Decisions Made Faster Bill 2025, a piece of State legislation that would have further eroded local planning controls and community rights in the planning process
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Moved the adoption of the Significant Community Benefit Policy: a formal, enforceable formula requiring that when developers exceed height limits, the community value received must match the planning uplift value gained. Benefits must be genuine: a cash contribution to a dedicated Chapel Street precinct reserve, a land transfer, affordable housing, or new public space. Not a footpath that abuts the building.
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Secured heritage interim protection for an additional 318 properties, safeguarding South Yarra's architectural character for future generations
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Seconded a motion calling on the Minister for Planning to grant interim heritage controls for key properties at risk, protecting them from demolition while heritage reviews proceed
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Required weather canopy conditions on major Chapel Street developments to protect pedestrians from heat and rain
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Moved a Council motion calling attention to the Punt Road Public Acquisition Overlay, enacted in 1954, which has created over 70 years of uncertainty for property owners along Punt Road with no resolution in sight
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Proposed and achieved an amendment to the FY27 budget to double the cost of Out Of Hours construction permits. Late-night construction dramatically impacts the livability of our area. $510 was not enough to make developers really consider the impact of their decision to build through the night.
Climate
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EV charging across the ward. In the FY27 Council budget, I achieved an amendment for investment in on-street charging, particularly for residents without off-street parking.
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VECO Renewable Energy Contract: Stonnington has joined a collaborative procurement with neighbouring councils to secure renewable electricity at scale, achieving a 75% reduction in corporate greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels, while saving ratepayer money
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Moved the adoption of the Active Stonnington Action Plan 2026-2029, Council's strategic framework for active transport across the municipality, covering walking, cycling, and healthy movement infrastructure and programming
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Single-use plastic ban across Council facilities and events
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Solar installations accelerated across Council-owned buildings
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Nature Strip Planting Policy: Residents can now plant appropriate species on their nature strips, contributing to urban cooling, habitat, and biodiversity
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Free or reduced price pool access on extreme heat days: heat relief accessible to everyone, not just those with air conditioning
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Moved Council approval for the first three Container Deposit Scheme Reverse Vending Machine sites at TH King Oval Car Park, Basil Reserve, and a third site, then moved two further additional sites in March 2026, making it easier for residents to recycle containers and earn deposits conveniently
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Eastern Alliance for Greenhouse Action Chair: represented Stonnington on a regional body that accelerates climate action across councils
What I'm working on
Planning and Development
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Tranche 2 Activity Centre plans covering South Yarra, Hawksburn, Toorak, Windsor, Armadale, and Toorak Village are being finalised. Monitoring every development and continuing to push for evidence-based, locally-responsive planning.
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South Yarra Heritage Review, overdue since 2025. Our suburb deserves the same heritage protections as the rest of Stonnington.
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Jam Factory redevelopment: construction impacts and community benefit commitments need ongoing accountability.
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The Planning Minister's pattern of overriding local planning decisions. The record is growing.
Climate
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A new Climate Action Plan with real targets and genuine community consultation.
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An updated Open Space Strategy: as South Yarra grows denser, parks and green spaces face more pressure. We need a proactive plan to protect and increase tree canopy and open space, not just manage a growing shortage.
