Anger at a decision to classify Mandurah and the Peel region as part of Perth to exclude those communities from hundreds of millions in funding, continues to boil over with Premier Colin Barnett labelling the move by the federal government “silly” and “a mistake”.
Politicians and business leaders in the region continued to speak out and said they would not back down on the issue.
Mr Barnett, who led a state cabinet meeting in Peel during April, said the decision was a mistake and the federal government needed to have another look at the map.
“Look, it's nonsense, it's a silly point of view, we'll tell the federal government they're being silly and I hope they correct it,” he said.
“Some of the bureaucrats sitting behind their desks in Canberra ought to get on a plane and come over here and actually have a look and realise something about the reality of Western Australia.”
He said the state government would continue to treat Mandurah and Pinjarra as part of a distinct Peel region and not suburbs of the metropolitan area.
Zak Kirkup, the Liberal party’s candidate for the seat of Dawesville which is also excluded from funding, said the decision showed how out of touch Canberra was in relation to the Peel region.
“It is remarkably disappointing that they’ve struck not only at our sense of identity but show a complete ignorance of our community,” he said.
“We’re already getting shortchanged on the GST, and this is a double hit – this will affect the City of Mandurah and development commission projects.
“It’s important to recognise that the WA Liberal party has had a proud history of recognising and funding the region, in fact we created the PDC [Peel Development Commission] in the early 90s and we introduced – together with the National Party – Royalties for Regions, which enshrines in law recognition of the region.”
Peel Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Donna Cocking started a petition to have the decision overturned, which had received more than 500 signatures as of Thursday morning.
She said locals were furious and the “outrageous” decision would lead to further stagnation in the regional economy.
“This is just not ‘fair dinkum’,” she wrote in a preamble to the petition.
“Shire of Murray and other smaller towns are now disadvantaged because funding is being prioritised for larger cities with more votes.”
A spokesperson for regional development minister Fiona Nash said her office was aware of the concerns.
“Boundaries were determined using the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Significant Urban Area maps for the capital cities of Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra,” she said.
CANNING MP ANDREW HASTIE SPEAKS OUT:
Nathan Hondros
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
