The real reason is because the developer was pulling out due to unexpected cost of excavation and the Federal Government hadn't approved the project yet. The community backlash angle is to try and save face.

This is great news.

When you throw out all your own rules, processes and checks because of a funding imperative set by someone else, you are sure to make mistakes. And the Brumby Government has made a beauty. There is an undeniable need to increase social housing stock in Victoria, but residents have strong views about how social housing should be delivered and what our most vulnerable residents deserve. High-density, sub-standard, cheap and nasty housing is not the answer and is not sustainable for the long term. Housing is important, but housing mistakes have long-term, inter-generational consequences that must be considered.

The developer pulled out of this project 6 weeks ago because there was not enough money in it. The RSL has been mischevious in giving the line that it buckled to community pressure. Whose needs are actually being met by these proposed projects? The vulnerable who require social housing or the construction industry?