Large tracts of land primarily in Perth's outer suburbs will be released in a bid to alleviate housing shortages, but experts want greater focus on smart infill models that don't exacerbate urban sprawl.
WA's current rental vacancy rate is at its lowest level in more than a decade, with rates for houses and units in the greater Perth region dipping to 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.
To help ease this, the WA government has released 13 planning sites to build new homes in, as part of its "Perth to Peel @ 3.5 million" framework.
The framework was formulated in 2018 to guide the development of the Perth and Peel regions as a compact and connected city that can accommodate a population of 3.5 million by 2050.
"This is part of the continual work to make sure there is land available into the future [and] to ensure that we continually create land opportunities and housing opportunities," Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said.
The blocks will be created on 5,600 hectares of land in North Ballajura (Hepburn Avenue — West), Maida Vale, East of Kwinana and Pinjarra-Ravenswood, which were determined as suitable for future residential and other urban uses.
Ms Saffioti said the areas were well located to create new communities and deliver up to 76,000 new homes.
"We've undertaken considerable work to understand the key considerations, constraints and future opportunities for this land, and provide certainty to landowners and the community," she said.
However, Ms Saffioti confirmed it could take up to five years for the blocks to hit the market.
"From our perspective it's about making sure we get the hurdles out of the way, that we work with industry, that we identify areas, and that we work with them to make sure they can deliver," she said.
"But what we're trying to do is continually reassure the industry [and] the market that there's continued work to make sure there's land available."
The massive land release adds to the East Wanneroo District Structure Plan, released last year, which aims to develop 8,000 hectares of land in Wanneroo, Mariginiup, Gnangara, Jandabup and Pinjar to cater for 150,000 residents.
Call for more consolidated city
With most of the development areas located in the outer suburbs, some experts are concerned about the added stress on already choked freeway systems and cutting families off from vital services.
"Many of these places are getting poorer and poorer, because they're not attracting the families who would like to live closer to services, closer to the city [and] closer to where all the education and health facilities are," sustainability expert Peter Newman said.
Professor Newman believes the government's strategy fails to encourage sustainable cities and flies in the face of their own infill targets, which they're failing to meet.
"We need to have a more consolidated city that is accessible for all kinds of incomes, and for all the types of housing that we need for the future," he said.
He said there were better development models, such as the White Gum Valley precinct, where home owners come together to design their own community.
"[It's] worked very well and is attractive for the market, it's attractive for the local community and for the residents who go there," he said.
But he said red tape was stopping similar projects from going forward.
"The main thing is to provide for housing in a precinct scale, not just filling in backyards," he said.
"We need to get 20 or 30 households in an area to redevelop together … and that's messy and difficult and requires local governments to get clearly involved in the process."
No immediate relief for disadvantaged: Anglicare
Anglicare WA's CEO Mark Glasson welcomed the announcement but said other measures were needed to support disadvantaged people in the meantime.
"We're dealing with a shortage of houses, which is the result of initiatives like this not happening sooner," he said.
"Until that land gets released, we'd be calling for rent assistance [because] we need to support people to stay in their housing where they are."
He said the government should also be looking at setting aside some of the land for social housing.
"My request to the local governments and the planning department would be to ensure … some of those properties are affordable for people on low incomes," he said.
"We're about 39,000 houses short for people on low income, so anything that will make a dent on that would be really a wonderful outcome."
