Push to increase regional Australian population welcomed by Geraldton mayor and experts

A push to develop Australia’s regional towns has been welcomed by Geraldton’s mayor and regional planning experts. The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) announced its Regionalisation Ambition 2032 campaign to develop regional Australia in the next decade. The campaign pushes for the regional population to increase from 9.5 million to 11 million by 2032, 500,000 more than current estimates. The Institute’s plans include calls to develop a wide field of sectors, including housing, employment, education, transport and childcare in regional Australia, to accommodate an increased population while improving standards of living for regional Australians. “These issues are all interlinked, complex and equally as important, so the development of a holistic and integrated framework is a momentous step forward to achieving better outcomes for all,” RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said. City of Greater Geraldton mayor Shane Van Styn said Geraldton had been preparing to expand and welcomed a national effort for regionalisation. “Geraldton has always been a very diverse economy. Certainly in the last decade that has diversified greatly; it’s not just a fishing town or a farming town and I think that’s a sign that Geraldton is coming of age as an alternative city base,” he said. “We see the national debate is dominated by congestion and lack of housing availability and we see regional Australia as a solution to all of those issues.” Mr Van Styn said Geraldton would need government support to expand its infrastructure and industry, such as upgrading its power network. “Everyone is trying to cram industry into places like Kwinana where they’re rapidly running out of room. I think that by investing into infrastructure, roads, ports, it will allow industry to consider Geraldton as an option and that will bring a population shift,” he said. Centre for Regional Development co-director Dr Fiona Haslam-McKenzie said experts have been calling for regionalisation for many years, but planning needed to be careful and innovative. “In the last two years we’ve seen inadequate housing is just prohibiting any expansive ideas for increased population. It’s housing infrastructure and connectivity that is holding these things back,” Dr Haslam-McKenzie said. “I think there needs to be very progressive planning to provide all the necessary services, sewerage, water, electricity, internet, so land banking developable land, preparing it for when people move in, is very important.”