Credit where it’s due. When I commented on the proposed pay-for-speed initiatives at the major cases list at VCAT last September, I argued (as did pretty much everyone) that what was really needed was extra funding across the list. VCAT is in a bad way at the moment, clearly struggling to clear its cases in a timely manner: the persistent rumour is that they lack the money to put on the Sessional Members that are needed to deal with the Planning List. And now Matthew Guy has announced what amounts to an emergency funds injection, specific to planning:
The Victorian Coalition Government has committed $1 million to tackle the backlog of planning cases before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
Announcing the initiative today, Planning Minister Matthew Guy said the funding would enable approximately 800 cases to be finalised and reduce the waiting list by up to six months.
Interestingly, the press release hints at looming twelve month waiting periods, which is even worse than the eight or nine months I’ve heard of:
“Eighty per cent of cases currently on the Planning and Environment List have been waiting at least six months to be heard, and without today’s initiative were likely to wait a further six months before a hearing date was confirmed,” Mr Guy said.
Whether it’s a year or eight or nine months, the waiting times are ridiculous and make a mockery out of the various “circuit-breaking” measures that exist to allow applicants to resolve disputes or move past an intransigent council. For example, there’s no point appealing a council failure to determine an application within 60 days when VCAT are likely to be slower than the council.
So this is very welcome funding.
The interesting question it raises, though, is how far the money will go. The Minister says it can “reduce the waiting list by up to 6 months” and finalise about 800 cases. That would be phenomenal if it is achieved, and I suspect is optimistic. But certainly the injection is non-trivial: according to the VCAT annual report (page 59), the total expense on the Planning List is currently $8.49 million, so this would amount to an 11% budget boost. Put another way, if all the money were spent on Sessional Members it would buy you about a thousand days of hearings at the current VCAT remuneration rates of around $1000 a day for Members. In practice, of course, it would actually have to go to administration and other functions as well, but the point is it’s a significant injection.
That should bust into the backlog and give some short term relief. As the press release notes, however, the number of cases is growing (and will probably continue to grow until the Minister gets serious on planning system reform). So the next question is how the longer term funding outlook will resolve. On that point, the press release contains a sting in the tail:
As part of the reform moves, Mr Guy will establish a working group comprising members of VCAT and departmental officers to review long term funding options and other possible reforms.
That’s fine, as far as it goes. But VCAT members and departmental officers aren’t themselves going to be able to make the high level budgetary decisions needed to get a sustainable funding level. Let’s hope that VCAT can be properly funded on an ongoing basis, rather than expecting the Minister’s working group to contrive its own sources of funding thorugh “innovations” such as the pay-for-speed shakedown that is the Major Cases List.
After all, the total funding of VCAT is $38 million a year (again, from the annual report). Given the numbers the Minister likes to bandy about regarding the economic value of projects before the Tribunal, that seems like chickenfeed. It should be funded properly.