The Perth and Peel metropolitan area already extends 158 kilometres, from Two Rocks in the north to Herron in the south, but the state government is attempting to push development further north-east.
Click play to hear from Dr Brad Pettitt.
The North Ellenbrook Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) amendment seeks to reclassify hundreds of hectares of rural land between Ellenbrook and Bullsbrook to “urban deferred” in a bid to pave the way for new housing and commercial property.
The state government says up to 11,000 homes would be constructed in the area, which it’s labelling an answer to Perth’s housing crisis.
On Wednesday, the Legislative Council voted on a major disallowance motion put forward by The Greens, which was backed by One Nation. The motion has delayed the immediate progression of the proposal by three months.
Speaking to Youth Jam’s Isaac Mulcrone, Dr Brad Pettitt, The Greens WA leader, said there is an “extra layer of consequence” to the rezoning.
“Unlike the coastal suburbs, where it’s sand and the water that runs off all the new hard roofs and roads and disappears into the sand and the aquifers below, this new North Ellenbrook proposal… actually is on (a) thin layer of sand over clay. What we’re seeing in that area, where we see subdivisions like Brabham and Dayton, we are seeing flooding all around the surrounding areas and the risk is that’s exactly what’s going to happen in Ellenbrook as well,” he told Newsflash listeners.
Dr Pettitt says there’s a “broken planning model” which he added is a “one-size-fits-all” approach to drainage and water management.
He also raised concerns about the impacts of urban sprawl on the local environment.
“We are destroying the natural environment in the area and one of the key things that was raised yesterday is there’s some quite delicate ecosystems in the area that provide habitat to critically endangered species, including the Western Swamp Tortoise.”
Evidence suggests habitats will be wiped out should the land be developed for residential and commercial use.
