The West Australian – “What business wants to see from a second term of the McGowan government…”

• The governance oversight in parliament is now almost completely Labor.  Whilst the Premier has allayed fears by saying there is nothing to worry about, it’s not the Premier’s integrity that is in question.  It is his party’s ability to deliver on that promise, and history shows that no matter what party is in power, that items are pushed through parliament without the intense scrutiny that comes from an equal power base in parliament.
• When governments move into their second term, the scrutinization of deals, plans and projects has lessened, given particularly that certain sectors of industry have vested interests in seeing government legislate or change agreed policy.
• An example of this was quite recent…
  • It is well known that industrial areas need stable buffer zones for their long-term sustainability.
  • The Kwinana/Rockingham industrial area employs tens of thousands of local workers and is a fundamental part of this economy.
  • The Minister for Planning recently approved a residential subdivision that encroaches on the industry’s buffer zone, which sets a worrying precedent for further encroachments.
  • Whilst it is the interests of residential property developers to get access to land within the buffer zone for residential housing, further encroachment will likely threaten the industry’s sustainability.
  • I fully support The Kwinana Industries Council’s call to make political donations from property developers illegal, as it is in NSW, QLD and the ACT. 
  • I am certain this isn’t just a South of the River issue, and we need appropriate legal measures implemented to ensure that strategic decisions impacting on one of Australia’s premier industrial areas be made collectively by the cabinet with an independent review of the processes, influences and potential biases associated with land use planning processes.
• There needs to be a legislated ban on property developers and their lobbyists making or facilitating political donations that have the potential to skew decision making.

Donna Bates
Consultant – Strategic Planning & Co-founder/Managing Director ‘The Lab Factory’ Cosharing Space
[Governance | Integrity | Strategy]