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Analysis shows almost one million Perth residents disadvantaged
Published Wednesday, 13th April 2016
Almost one million residents living in Perth’s outer suburbs lack access to adequate roads, public transport and health facilities, according to research commissioned by the NGAA.
The results will be presented next week on Wednesday, 13 April, and a dollar figure will be placed on the national backlog in infrastructure spending in fast-growing outer suburbs on the outskirts of our capital cities – from Wanneroo in our city’s North, to Cockburn in the South; and Armadale and Gosnells in the South-East.
WA spokesperson of the NGAA, City of Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts said: “Too often our residents are forced to travel up to two hours each way just to get to their job–burdening them with high fuel costs, stress from sitting in traffic, and time away from friends and family.”
The analysis quantifies the disadvantage in these areas by benchmarking infrastructure against that in more established suburbs closer to the city. It also shows the extent of the costs into the future.
“If a significant investment is not made, we risk dividing cities along social and economic lines: those in the inner city who have good access to transport, jobs and health facilities – and those in the fast-growing outer suburbs who do not,” said Mayor Roberts.
The NGAA represents councils and communities on the outskirts of Australia’s capital cities, which are growing at double the national rate.
Five million Australians already live in fast-growing outer suburbs around the country. In 15 years, the population in these areas will have increased by half again to 7.5 million people.
The work will be presented as part of the NGAA’s Fund our Future campaign, which is calling for a national dedicated fund to address the backlog in roads, rail and healthcare infrastructure in these areas –– and future-proof them as they continue to grow.
Fund our Future is unique because it brings together communities with similar issues from all over the country and demands a change in the way the federal government invests in growth areas.
Such a fund would support projects with sound business cases based on merit and good planning – not on election cycles.
What: Perth launch of Fund our Future
When: 10-11am, Wednesday, 13 April, 2016
Where: Crown Perth – Studio 1
Great Eastern Highway, Burswood
Please RSVP if you will be attending. Media contact: Susi Hamilton, National Growth Areas Alliance, 0448 388 934 or susi.hamilton@ngaa.org.au.
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