❓ The Minister for Lands outlines the government's plan to accommodate Perth's population growth to 2.2 million by 2031, focusing on urban infill, increased residential density, and LandCorp's housing projects.
AnsweredQoN 48Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH — POPULATION GROWTH
48. Mrs G.J. GODFREY to the
Minister for Lands:
Can the minister update the house on the government's
efforts to accommodate population growth that is expected to take the number of
people living in Perth to 2.2 million by 2031?
48. Mrs G.J. GODFREY to the
Minister for Lands:
Can the minister update the house on the government's
efforts to accommodate population growth that is expected to take the number of
people living in Perth to 2.2 million by 2031?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Belmont for the question and, indeed,
for her interest in ensuring that this Liberal–National government
makes every effort to ensure that we cater for growth in Western Australia. In
2010, the Minister for Planning released ''Directions 2031: Draft
Spatial Framework for Perth and Peel''—a plan for the
development of the city and where we will cater for this growth. The plan
referred to an additional half a million people in the Perth and Peel regions
over the period of time until 2031, and in recent times the net increase in
people coming to Western Australia has been about 1 000 people a week. This is
something that we have to cater for and manage. Although the Minister for
Planning and the Western Australian Planning Commission has responsibility for
managing the planning and the vision for this growth, it is organisations such
as LandCorp, the Department of Housing and others that have responsibility for
ensuring we have the number of dwellings and houses that must come into play in
order to cater for this increase.
A number of targets were pointed out
in Directions 2031, one of which is a target of a 50 per cent improvement in
the current rate of urban infill—another is a 50 per cent increase in
the current average residential density. Two things have arisen that are
largely a response to the current change in demographics. First, there is an
increasing demand for less traditional housing, such as smaller dwellings and
higher density because there are fewer people with kids, a greater number of
singles and couples, and a greater number of elderly people who want to downsize
their properties. The push for higher density is really important. Seventy per
cent of the stock that LandCorp manages is earmarked for medium to high-density
housing and about 80 per cent of that is identified for the
below-the-median-price market, which supports the housing affordability
strategy that the Minister for Housing is rolling out on behalf of the state
government.
In the past year, LandCorp has partnered with local
government and private developers to provide land for more than 1 200 new apartments,
villas and townhouses in metropolitan locations, including Carine, Claremont,
Rivervale, Rockingham, Mandurah and Cockburn. Again, there are some very good
examples, particularly the Cockburn example, of a level of built form around
the train stations, which allows us to increase the density yet maintain the
level of ambience we want in these areas. In the regions, similar high-density
opportunities are being offered in areas such as the Pilbara. There is the same
sort of thing in Bunbury, Kalgoorlie and Broome. Another very good example of
what is coming on is Claremont on the Park. I am sure that the Premier is right
behind the development that is happening in and around Claremont Oval. There
will be more than 700 new homes, along with landscaped public spaces, walkways
and cycleways. It is close to schools, the train, the beach, the river and, of
course, the town centre. LandCorp went to the market for the first of those
apartment sites in 2012. Georgiou Capital was selected to deliver the first of
those apartment complexes. There will be four-storey to six-storey residential
buildings with 95 one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
I make the point that we are supporting a plan to support the
growth of the population in Western Australia. We are seeing an increase in
population. The effort that we are putting into it is resulting in very
contemporary infill and very contemporary movement towards higher density
developments, which are supporting changes in demographics. I think the Liberal–National
government is really doing its bit to support the growth in Western Australia.
for her interest in ensuring that this Liberal–National government
makes every effort to ensure that we cater for growth in Western Australia. In
2010, the Minister for Planning released ''Directions 2031: Draft
Spatial Framework for Perth and Peel''—a plan for the
development of the city and where we will cater for this growth. The plan
referred to an additional half a million people in the Perth and Peel regions
over the period of time until 2031, and in recent times the net increase in
people coming to Western Australia has been about 1 000 people a week. This is
something that we have to cater for and manage. Although the Minister for
Planning and the Western Australian Planning Commission has responsibility for
managing the planning and the vision for this growth, it is organisations such
as LandCorp, the Department of Housing and others that have responsibility for
ensuring we have the number of dwellings and houses that must come into play in
order to cater for this increase.
A number of targets were pointed out
in Directions 2031, one of which is a target of a 50 per cent improvement in
the current rate of urban infill—another is a 50 per cent increase in
the current average residential density. Two things have arisen that are
largely a response to the current change in demographics. First, there is an
increasing demand for less traditional housing, such as smaller dwellings and
higher density because there are fewer people with kids, a greater number of
singles and couples, and a greater number of elderly people who want to downsize
their properties. The push for higher density is really important. Seventy per
cent of the stock that LandCorp manages is earmarked for medium to high-density
housing and about 80 per cent of that is identified for the
below-the-median-price market, which supports the housing affordability
strategy that the Minister for Housing is rolling out on behalf of the state
government.
In the past year, LandCorp has partnered with local
government and private developers to provide land for more than 1 200 new apartments,
villas and townhouses in metropolitan locations, including Carine, Claremont,
Rivervale, Rockingham, Mandurah and Cockburn. Again, there are some very good
examples, particularly the Cockburn example, of a level of built form around
the train stations, which allows us to increase the density yet maintain the
level of ambience we want in these areas. In the regions, similar high-density
opportunities are being offered in areas such as the Pilbara. There is the same
sort of thing in Bunbury, Kalgoorlie and Broome. Another very good example of
what is coming on is Claremont on the Park. I am sure that the Premier is right
behind the development that is happening in and around Claremont Oval. There
will be more than 700 new homes, along with landscaped public spaces, walkways
and cycleways. It is close to schools, the train, the beach, the river and, of
course, the town centre. LandCorp went to the market for the first of those
apartment sites in 2012. Georgiou Capital was selected to deliver the first of
those apartment complexes. There will be four-storey to six-storey residential
buildings with 95 one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
I make the point that we are supporting a plan to support the
growth of the population in Western Australia. We are seeing an increase in
population. The effort that we are putting into it is resulting in very
contemporary infill and very contemporary movement towards higher density
developments, which are supporting changes in demographics. I think the Liberal–National
government is really doing its bit to support the growth in Western Australia.
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