Labor’s One Vote One Value legislation means the State’s wealth-creating country and remote regions face the prospects of ever greater favouring of metropolitan Perth, according to urban and regional planner, Emeritus Professor of Geography, Martyn Webb.
Because of this, the entire fabric of Western Australia’s governance system should be revamped, something that hasn’t happened since self-government was gained in 1890.
Professor Webb proposes the creation of a largely autonomous Greater Perth Metropolitan Authority (GPMA), under the direction of local governments that would acquire sizeable segments of the State Government’s administration of metropolitan Perth since the overwhelming bulk of Government agencies are concerned with the metropolitan area.
The GPMA would administer about 20,000sqkm, and only Perth’s 1.5 million inhabitants
This recognises what’s in fact happening – but a GPMA would ensure Parliament wasn’t preoccupied with what are really no more than metropolitan priorities.
Parliament should focus upon governing the State and not be burdened by local issues.
A GPMA would have elected representatives, its own employees and statutory powers, and would oversee metropolitan policing, transport, health, planning, education and other key urban services. Currently State Government agencies are principally concerned with metropolitan affairs which should be transferred to a GPMA.
And a separate Country and Remote Area Authority (CRAA) — covering WA’s remaining 2.5 million sqkm — would be created to focus solely upon the distinct needs of those living in the wealth-creating regions on which WA’s economy is based. Both authorities would have parliamentary and ministerial oversight.
Their creation would mean the long-talked about decentralization of WA would begin being realized.
Furthermore, the CRAA could be based in Geraldton, to be well away from Perth.
Geraldton is at the northern end of the wheatbelt and southern boundary of the State’s pivotal mining region.
“Within our huge state a dichotomy exists between metropolitan and non-metropolitan WA that’s so stark that one needs only say Perth is the main beneficiary of almost every kind of development that’s occurred, is occurring, or is ever likely to occur, in the agricultural, pastoral, forestry, mining and fishery regions,” Professor Webb said.
The radical decentralising Webb blueprint is based on findings he made during research trips to a dozen Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and American cities which govern themselves including Brisbane, Auckland, Winnipeg, Toronto, San Diego and Seattle.
Professor Webb said large cities didn’t need to be directly controlled by huge state bureaucracies, such as in WA. On reaching a critical self-sustaining size they can be “spun-off” to become largely autonomous entities as occurred to Brisbane in 1925.
Professor Webb believes Perth reached that point immediately after World War II but was left under the tight control of State Parliament.
This was acknowledged by the creation of the Metropolitan Regional Planning Authority in 1963, following the appointment, in 1953, of Professor Stephenson to draw up a regional plan.
The reluctance of State MPs to grasp this means near-dictatorial control of everything that matters across Perth, including freeways, main roads, railways, buses and even taxi services.
“Perth has long been large and mature enough to do away with being the play thing of State Parliament which has a huge State to govern,” he said.
Labor’s electoral redistribution, by relocating six rural seats to Perth, further shifts the balance towards city residents.
The new line-up is 42 of 59 Lower House MPs representing Perth.
“This legislation transforms State Parliament into a huge local or metropolitan government to which are attached handful of country and remote MPs,” Professor Webb said.
“Future parliaments will inevitably further alter the priorities from a State-wide outlook to narrow metropolitan vote-catching priorities. This will mean an increase of funding for social and economic welfare of the metropolitan area and won’t achieve an equitable division between the country and city.”
He said this inevitable trend called for redressing the balance between Perth and the State’s remote wealth-producing regions, which had quite different needs.
Recent amendments to the Planning Act merely extended the powers that once only covered Perth to the entire State and no future city-dominated Parliament will be able to alter this trend.
Perth’s dominance of the entire State can only be broken by the creation of a specifically designed metropolitan government, he said.
“As with all the other mainly metropolitan agencies, the Planning Commission should surrender all its planning powers and staff to a truly democratic GPMA,” Professor Webb said. “As radical as this may sound it’s not a new idea.
“It was actually first proposed for Perth before World War I by William Bold. By controlling the higher functions, Parliament has effectively decapitated and stifled the development of truly democratic regional governance in WA.
“We should remember our present arrangement of Parliament dominating Perth is based on what was a very tiny pre-1914 capital which was incapable of funding its services. Perth’s growth to now being a 1.5 million-strong city means it’s time to allow its people to manage their own affairs.
“Both Perth and country and remote areas are now basically governed by an overbearing dictatorial system under which ministers have a finger in virtually every pie.
“Unfortunately local governments are the play things of ministers and powerful city-based state bureaucracies. Health, water, education, police, and other major essential responsibilities should be controlled by a regional government like a GPMA.”
Professor Webb said if Electoral Affairs Minister Jim McGinty was really interested in democracy, as he claims, he should realise representation wasn’t the only thing that mattered.
“What’s crucial is the acquisition and use of power to govern and manage one’s affairs,” he said.
“For example, the police should be returned to civilian control and Police Commissioners should be answerable to the elected GPMA.
“Where the local authority is competent to do the job, such as the proposed GPMA, then the powers should be returned to it.
“This would mean, for example, with the police — a metropolitan police force. For country and remote areas we already have a network of regional and development councils (RDC) under the Regional and Development Act.”
The basis for the transfer of power to country and remote areas was laid in the 1980s by the Regional Development Act to whom the planning and other functions can now easily be transferred.
In addition to metropolitan Perth, there are nine regional commissions with 21 offices covering Gascoyne, Goldfields, Great Southern, Kimberley, Mid-West, Peel, Pilbara, South-West and Wheatbelt.
Professor Webb said that although these commissions currently lacked any real authority this could easily be dramatically changed by giving them planning functions and powers over areas the GPMA would have in Perth.
This would mean State Parliament could focus on issues like State finances, the setting of standards in areas such as health, policing, education, transport and other services and comprehensive oversight and review of legislation.
The State Government would need to transfer funds into the GPMA and CRAAs. State Treasury would have an absolutely vital role in allocating funds between the competing needs of the GPMA and CRAAs.
Professor Webb said his blueprint differed from the 1970s centralist regionalist plan, which sought to create Canberra-controlled regions to displace state governments.
