Dialogue with the City - consulting the community on Perth's future

10/6/03
The people of Perth are invited to have a say in the future shape of their city, through the southern hemisphere's biggest-ever community consultation exercise.
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said 'Dialogue with the City', planned for September 13, had the potential to change the face of the metropolitan area for the better.
Ms MacTiernan said the objective of 'Dialogue with the City' was to plan for the future of the metropolitan area and the Peel region, with the aim of making Perth the world's most liveable city by the year 2030.
"A thousand Western Australians will gather in one place to tell us in what kind of city they want to live," the Minister said.
"People will come together to participate in a new exercise in democracy - having access to the best information and cutting edge ideas, learning from each others' views, and having their own voices heard.
"We will also ensure that planning experts and passionate advocates of differing viewpoints are an integral part of the dialogue."
Ms MacTiernan said by 2030, there would be 760,000 more people living in Perth and Peel, 350,000 more houses would have been built and the area would support 975,000 jobs.
"Our challenge is to accommodate these enormous changes while retaining the quality of life Western Australians value so highly," she said.
"A better planned city will ensure people have a diversity of housing, lifestyle and employment choices and access to our environmental assets.
"We need to look at our city, suburbs and the natural environment as a whole - and consider social, economic and ecological values at the same time.
"The end result must be a place where people are happy to live, work and raise families - where we provide realistic solutions to traffic congestion, pollution and crime.
"Planning a city is not something that can simply be done by technicians; the values, aspirations and ideas of the people of Perth are at the core of the process, and that is the reason 'Dialogue with the City' was born."
Ms MacTiernan said the 'Dialogue with the City' concept was based on the public participation exercise that galvanised the people of New York after September 11.
More than 4,000 New Yorkers gathered at a huge interactive workshop to agree on planning options for the World Trade Centre 'Ground Zero' site.
"All Perth residents will have an opportunity to participate in 'Dialogue with the City'," the Minister said.
"Before the 'Dialogue' event, people will be able to put forward their ideas and responses through an Internet site that will be widely publicised.
"More than 5,000 people, selected at random from the electoral roll, will be surveyed to help identify major community concerns and aspirations.
"About a third of the 'Dialogue' participants will be chosen from people who respond to this survey.
"Another third will be selected at random from people who nominate themselves to attend.
"We will have a comprehensive information campaign telling people how they can nominate.
"Invited representatives of Government agencies, local governments, academia and industry and community organisations will make up the final third.
"The whole process will be overseen by a steering group which includes representatives of Government, business and community interests."
Ms MacTiernan acknowledged the vital contribution of the Government's partners in Dialogue with the City, BHP Billiton Iron Ore, Sun Microsystems, ADI Limited, Alphawest and Channel Seven, Perth.
Minister's office: 9213 6400