The Coburg Initiative

Coburg is a place of varied characteristic: diversely populated, hills and vales, lots of kebabs and walnuts.

'Initiative' is probably not one of Coburg's better known characteristics. 'Adapting to circumstances' might be rather more accurate, if the conversion of Pentridge Prison into a luxury apartment village is anything to go by.

Hence M.Shriek was slack-jawed with amazement to learn of The Coburg Initiative. Sufficiently slack-jawed to ask: 'what is the Coburg Initiative?'

The Coburg Initiative is a plan. Not just any plan - it's an action plan. An action plan to implement a Structure Plan - the Coburg 2020 Structure Plan. It is, if Moreland City Council propaganda is anything to go by, a plan 'about new jobs, housing, services and retail' which 'will lead to improvements to the public realm', provide a focus on 'new connectivity between people and their places of work, culture, sport and leisure' and will celebrate and preserve 'the things that make today's Coburg great'.

M.Shriek hopes readers will agree that that all Sounds Great.

There are a few caveats on the execution of the Coburg Initiative. The first is that the plan will be actioned by Equiset, a Grollo Group subsidiary. The second is that the Coburg 2020 Structure Plan is based on the Melbourne 2030 Strategic Plan for sustainable growth - the same Melbourne 2030 which Premier John Brumby appears to have gone extremely cold on.

M.Shriek hopes readers will agree that that all Sounds Rather Worrying.

On the whole, M.Shriek can only conclude that one way or the other there will be a great deal of relief once the Hon.Prem.J.Brumby has actually faced the voters in the polls. Being the kind of Premier who jettisons without notice previous strategic plans and policies for sustainable living should prove much easier to pull off with some sort - any sort - of popular mandate.