Outer-Suburban Growth Is a Burden

I reject the claim from Property Council of Australia's Residential Development Council executive director, Ross Elliott, that "The whole community benefits from growth" on the fringes of Melbourne (The Age, 20/8/05). People flock there - miles from schools, hospitals, public transport and other services - to realise the dream of a backyard. They know they can burden the rest of us with the cost of their lifestyle choice, once they're ensconced there in sufficient numbers.

Young families starting out should instead live in medium-density housing in Melbourne's middle suburbs, sharing the ample parks and facilities there, unless they're prepared to fund the true cost of their prized backyard.