The not-in-my-back-yard movement is being blasted by Premier Jacinta Allan as her government moves to entice more Victorians to buy into the frigid off-the-plan housing market.
Fresh from unveiling a controversial planning controls overhaul, Ms Allan on Monday announced Victorian stamp duty concessions would be immediately expanded to all buyers and uncapped.
Thresholds for stamp duty concessions had previously been set at $750,000 and $550,000, minus construction costs, for first home buyers and owner occupiers respectively.
Eligibility for the concessions has been expanded to investors and the value cap removed for one year from October 21 as long as the off-the-plan property is part of a strata subdivision.
Stamp duty for those properties will instead be calculated on the cost of land before construction, not the total of the finished property.
The government estimates the changes will lower stamp duty on a $620,000 off-the-plan apartment from $32,000 to $4000 - a $28,000 discount.
"This initiative is designed to do three things: build more homes, build more homes and build more homes," Ms Allan told reporters at a recently opened build-to-rent project in North Fitzroy on Monday.
She said the 12-month stimulus plan stemmed from a cry for help from under-pressure builders as interest rate rises cooled the market.
Owners will still receive a discount if building is under way on an off-the-plan apartment, unit or townhouse but savings will depend on how much construction has occurred.
Treasurer Tim Pallas said the changes were expected to cost the government about $55 million and would benefit other prospective buyers by boosting supply.
The Housing Industry Association and Urban Development Institute of Australia both welcomed the stamp-duty concession expansion as a step in the right direction.
But the Victorian opposition labelled it an attempt to distract from the government lagging behind its target to build 80,000 homes a year in the next decade, and questioned whether it would produce more housing.
"It will only affect projects that are already under way," Opposition Leader and Hawthorn MP John Pesutto said.
"How is that in any way an answer to Victoria's housing crisis?"
Ms Allan received a hostile reception on Sunday as she unveiled a plan to create 50 new "activity centres".
The centres would feature a mix of townhouses and apartments close to high-frequency train stations and tram stops, including in Melbourne's leafiest and most expensive areas such as Hawthorn, Malvern, Sandringham, Toorak, Armadale and Brighton.
Building heights in the areas would vary between three and 20 storeys.
Furious Brighton residents, led by local Liberal MP James Newbury, surrounded the hotel where the premier announced the plan, chanting "shame premier, shame".
Ms Allan pushed back at a suggestion the planning overhaul of mostly Liberal-held state electorates was politically motivated.
"I'm determined to fight for those Victorians who need the government to fight back against this NIMBY-style approach," she said.
Teal independent MP Monique Ryan, who represents the federal electorate of Kooyong in Melbourne's inner east, said residents were concerned buildings of up to 20 storeys could compromise services and infrastructure.
"What people need to have is some certainty we'll still get kids into primary and secondary schools in the area," she told ABC News.
The Victorian Greens, who criticised the removal of stamp duty for investors, want 50 per cent of dwellings in the rezoned areas set aside as public and affordable housing.
