South West framework a good start, details needed

THE City of Bunbury has called for a more detailed planning strategy for the region after the release of a broad planning framework for the South West.

Planning Minister John Day released the South West Framework last week, a broad ranging document produced by the Western Australian Planning Commission, which provides for the growth needs of the South West for the next 20 years.

South West Development Commission chief executive Don Punch said the framework would provide a solid base to develop infrastructure in the region.

City of Bunbury chief executive Greg Trevaskis told WA Business News the framework was a good step, but was lacking in detail in terms of when major infrastructure projects would be undertaken.

“It’s good to have that framework in place; now we’ll be pressing the government to look at more of the details, to look at the forward estimates, and really engage with local governments so that we know what those plans are,” Mr Trevaskis said.

“We’d be encouraging the government to provide, within this framework, some certainty to the investments and when projects are going to roll-out.

“Then we’ll be able to say to the developers and the community, this is where your planning should be, these are where these key infrastructures are going to happen.

“With those decisions made, we can work around them, we can work together to see if we can get some buy-in from the local government, and that would be our strategy to look forward to the future.”

Mr Trevaskis said the South West was experiencing an expansion in the resources industry, particularly at Boddington and Worsley, so the framework had to acknowledge specific transport implications in the region.

“We’ve got a growing port, and we’ve got a strangulation of our freight network,” he said.

“While these large projects in the future up at Worsley are continuing on, we’ve also got Boddington and other developments.

“They’re all putting a lot of pressures onto the existing rail network and they still have to provide a passenger service.

“There are a whole lot of needs just in those sorts of areas and they’re the things that we’re keen to make sure that while we continue to grow, we’ve got continued investment in this area and we’re providing lots of jobs and opportunities for WA. We’ve got to make sure that the framework acknowledges some of these immediate needs.”