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As Australia heads into a five-week election campaign, the interim Chair of the National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) is calling on all parties to think hard about who might be voting for them in Australia’s outer suburban growth areas.
Mayor Terresa Lynes, interim chair of NGAA and Mayor of the City of Gosnells in Perth’s southeast which has experienced rapid population growth since the last election, says,
“Population data released this week shows that since the last election, Australia’s outer suburbs have been booming, with council areas experiencing population growth rates of up to 7% per annum. That equates to nearly 550,000 new residents with untested voting intentions.
“While we know a quarter of those residents are children, the rest are adults of voting age.
“Voters in traditionally safe outer suburban seats are no longer predictable. The pace of population growth and the diversity it brings means voter sentiment is dynamic and evolving rapidly between elections. Our communities are young, diverse, aspirational and increasingly influential.
“Growth area councils have accommodated 33% of Australia’s population growth since the last election, despite making up only 6% of the country’s local government areas,” she said.
Nearly two thirds of that growth (63%) has been from people moving into our regions from other areas (37%) and natural increase (27% more births than deaths).
The NGAA urges all parties to embrace the opportunities offered by growth areas and commit to policies that recognise the unique challenges and enormous potential of the outer suburbs.
“This election, we are asking all candidates to recognise outer metropolitan growth areas as regions requiring specific attention and long-term planning. Greater metropolitan regions – geographical areas on which government funding is based – do not show the different needs across our cities. The data and definitions need updating to reflect reality.
“As anyone who has driven through the outer suburbs of Australia’s capital cities this century will know how different they are to more established areas. We are transforming empty paddocks into new communities, and at the moment the only policy and funding focus is on building the houses. But people need more than a house.
“We are calling on all parties and independents to look closely at who they seek to represent and promise that our communities won’t have less access to infrastructure and services just because of their postcode.
“The future of Australia’s cities is being shaped right now by our growth areas. These are the communities where families are building their lives, where housing supply is being unlocked and where the next generation of Australians will grow up.
“Our communities are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for recognition of the essential role they play in shaping Australia’s future and for the infrastructure and services they were promised.”
