City’s growth to reach Canberra

The City of Wanneroo, which recently broke through the 180,000 residents mark, has been considering outside help to process an overwhelming number of house building applications. Aware, no doubt, of the growth and key development projects in Butler before an assessment panel this week, a Wanneroo councillor said last week that in 20 years the council would have to provide ‘the equivalent of an additional City of Stirling’, Perth’s biggest municipality with 200,000 people. This tremendous growth is not lost on Wanneroo and Joondalup administrators either. They are planning a trip in November to the national capital to organise a series of meetings to lobby Canberra for help in funding infrastructure and services. One hoped-for outcome in shining a light on the region might be a special federal-state funding model to recognise it as one of the fastest growing areas in the country.