I’m wary of how diluted “affordable housing” means. Bypassing Council, VCAT and third party appeals are very tasty prizes for developers and I’m sure plenty would manipulate the definition of “affordable housing” to get a ticket to far less planning oversight, especially with the low bar of entry at 50 million. More housing is desperately needed, and NIMBY pushback has definitely been an issue, but I really hope the homes will actually be affordable, and that the Vic government planners will enforce good quality design, not boundary to boundary grossness with no setbacks or green space.
It is more of a symptom of a problem with the current system though.
Its way more easier to get approvals when you buy a commercial building (eg a pub), and turn it into a high rise, than it is to buy a residential block and put single story units in place of the house.