Geraldton targets 11,000 new jobs in 20 years

The Greater Geraldton Growth Plan, announced today, has set a “conservative” target of an extra 11,000 jobs by 2036.

Regional Development Minister Terry Redman announced the details of the plan at the Mid West Economic Summit.

He said Perth had a strong history of planning its economic future, but regional WA didn’t get as much attention, and needed to look towards the state’s next “growth drivers”, including tourism and agriculture.

The plan’s target figures, which also include boosting the city’s population to 65,246 (compared to its current state of 41,430), aim for 4000 more jobs and an extra $900 million in economic output compared to “business as usual”.

The forum was told 2016 figures showed 14,321 people employed in the greater Geraldton region, with unemployment at 7.6 per cent.

The 20-year plan is one of four similar documents being created for WA’s regional centres (Geraldton, Broome, Bunbury and Kalgoorlie) with $7.5 million in Royalties for Regions funding.

The growth plan is now open for public comment on the City of Greater Geraldton’s website at www.cgg.wa.gov.au

The summit continues this afternoon.