From the late 1990s right through to 2012, Mandurah was one of the fastest growing cities in Australia, quickly becoming the largest population centre outside of Perth.
This growth was driven, not because people were moving here for work, but because they wanted to live in a place with great lifestyle and amenity.
Because of this rapid growth, the economy here has remained largely that of a holiday town centred around hospitality and tourism, along with the normal construction and retail industries that come from being a large population centre.
All indicators suggest that Mandurah and the Peel region will almost double again in size over the next 20 years.
With such a beautiful natural environment and a community love for this place, it is easy to overlook the challenges that come with such dramatic population growth.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the challenges that already exist in Mandurah. The majority of our jobs are reliant on people spending money in our city and without that, we are seeing job losses and businesses struggling, and the social issues that stem from the stresses and uncertainty that causes.
If Mandurah's economy was going to diversify naturally, it would have happened already.
The way we change Mandurah's story and make the most of what we have here is through having a bold agenda and chasing that agenda aggressively over the next five to 10 years.
Our 10-year economic revitalisation agenda, Transform Mandurah, is that bold agenda.
Leveraging on our unique waterways and natural environment, Transform Mandurah - including the creation of a water sciences hub, the City Centre redevelopment and the development of world-class eco-tourism in the Yalgorup National Park - will deliver short and long-term investment, quality sustainable jobs and education opportunities.
And momentum is already building. As word of Transform Mandurah is getting out there, the City is fielding calls from investors and land developers looking to make significant investment in Mandurah. And just last week I was pleased to help a large engineering company relocate a portion of its staff from its Perth offices to Mandurah. That represents new professional jobs here and direct spend in our economy.
Discussions so far with the State Government have been very supportive and from all accounts, our community is right there behind us in advocating for a more resilient and ambitious future for Mandurah.
Our future is certainly looking bright.
