By Charlene Macaulay
Wyndham council and developers have cautiously welcomed a state opposition plan to enforce population limits on growth areas lacking adequate infrastructure.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has promised to establish a population commission if the Liberals are elected in November, which would work with all levels of government to determine how future growth will be managed and would recommend population limits on growth areas with a shortage of infrastructure and police, doctors, teachers and healthcare workers.
Mr Guy has identified Wyndham as an area under pressure.
“Planning restrictions on suburbs and towns will only be lifted once infrastructure and the numbers of police, doctors, teachers and healthcare workers reach specific levels,” he said.
Wyndham council acting mayor Walter Villagonzalo said if the policy takes fruition, local government must play a key role in the process.
“While we appreciate successive governments’ investment in our region, we’re still in need of better public transport, more schools, better roads, and more.”
Dennis Family Corporation chief executive Peter Levinge – developer of the Westbrook estate in Truganina and Manor Lakes – said the idea had merit, provided that the emphasis is on the provision of infrastructure rather than any restrictive measures that may stifle growth.
“What is most needed from governments, and where a population commission could be best served, is to provide the necessary level of planning and infrastructure to cater to our growing communities,” he said.
