FAQs

In 2008 the Shire engaged in project consultation with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage for the development of the West Mundijong Industrial Area.

In 2018 this 440ha land parcel was zoned industrial.

The Shire has completed a Structure Plan and development contribution plan for this area and thirst industrial lot subdivision has recently been approved by the Western Australian Planning Commission.

The current West Mundijong Industrial Area has Mundijong Road as its southern border, Kargotich Road to the west, the Tonkin Highway reserve in the east and Bishop Road to the north. 

This industrial land will make available many industrial landholdings for businesses, with great opportunities for various scales of development to occur. 

The first phase of development, however, is limited to large unserviced lots (dry industry), which is based upon lot sizes of 1.5ha. This will be ideal for those types of industries that can exist in a dry industry state, and the adopted structure plan identifies such as including transport depot, warehouse, light and service industries, certain forms of general industries, food processing, trade and construction supplies, storage etc. 

Once services arrive, there is the potential for up to 880 serviced lots.

There are a number of potential roles that the Shire could undertake within the context of the West Mundijong area other than short-term maintenance which is required as a local government function. 

A number of these could be undertaken simultaneously, sequentially or standalone, and could indeed come and go as roles depending on the various phases of subdivision and development that occur over time. These roles include:

• Regulatory role (particularly as required by the statutory planning and associated frameworks administered by local government);
• Project advocate and facilitator to bring interested parties together (focussing current economic development functions of the Shire for example);
• Advocating and/or sponsoring infrastructure delivery, through State and Federal Government advocacy and grants;
• Further enhancement of the strategic and statutory planning frameworks, as may be relevant over time;
• Infrastructure provider, through direct funding;
• Project partner in collaboration with an agency and/or key landowners.

These roles are not mutually exclusive. In some instances, these would overlap and complement one another.  

A key question to consider in this regard is how the balance between regulatory responsibilities and project facilitation responsibilities can be best struck.

Shire population is growing rapidly, and part of our objective is to increase employment opportunities within the district. 

Providing economic self-sufficiency is a goal that the local government is aiming for, and the West Mundijong industrial area is one of the ways that will be able to address this issue. 

• Up to 13,600 new direct local jobs and as many as 40,100 indirect jobs will be created at full buildout of this project;
• Industrial rates income will top out at $4.5 million annually; 
• Economic development will be brought to the community linking to other major State projects such as Tonkin Highway;
• Self-sufficiency will lift the Shire from being a dormitory area, to being a significant local and regional industrial leader, bringing new investment, jobs, prosperity, social uplift and confidence.

The Shire needs to ensure that involvement with a project is considered in a balanced way.   These include such matters as:

• Local governments must be mindful of carefully choosing when and how to advocate, as such opportunities to obtain State and Federal support for projects need focussed attention. It is not possible to advocate for everything at all times, given this lacks a strategic focus and basis for consideration;
• While being aware of the economic advantages of providing funding to a project, this needs to be weighed up against whether such is a core responsibility for a local government to take;
• Current residents in the area may and in some instances will be affected by the developments. The Shire also has a responsibility towards them to ensure that they are fairly treated throughout the process. This is a function that is enshrined in the various regulatory responsibilities of the Shire.

The Shire needs to consider the opportunities that are presented to it against the risks that are present. Whilst the economic advantages of the opportunities are noted, there are potential reputational and perception risks that need to be taken into consideration.

There is also a potential risk that the project may not proceed based on competition in the industrial land market, that is growing in the southeast corridor of Perth. This could result in pressure being placed on the Shire to explore various incentives (or even disincentives) to drive development, such as differential rating. It would be important to consider how best to manage such levers in a way which creates flexibility but also certainty for the project in attracting investment.

The Shire has the option to either provide informal assistance or promote (and even go into) partnership with agencies such as Development WA or large developers to provide the necessary resources to do the project.  Some of these partnering stakeholders could include: 

• Landowners who will develop their own property
• Developers who will run a project
• State agencies such as DevelopmentWA who will run a project