Labor discussing plans for the future of Withers

Visiting the area on Tuesday ahead of the March 2017 election, Mr Logan met Labor candidate for Bunbury Don Punch at Des Ugle Park to discuss Withers Urban Renewal and housing issues in the South West. 

“Withers is laid out like a garden city, it’s very in touch with nature and is a prime area for a redevelopment program,” Mr Logan said. 

“There are a number of things that could be done in this suburb to transform the lives of the people living in Bunbury.” 

Mr Punch, who undertook an investigation into the redevelopment of Withers in 2012 on behalf of the South West Development Commission, said the suburb was special because it had the ocean and Hay Park sporting facilities on either side. 

“There is still a lot of vacant land in Withers that could be used to create new housing options with a focus on affordability,” he said. 

“There is great connectivity potential with a number of transport services and terrific opportunities to create a strong community with a real sense of place.

“We can use Withers as a way of catering to the growing older population who want safe and reliable housing options. It must become a priority for the Department of Housing.”

Mr Logan said 17 per cent of the homes in Withers are social housing, which is above the WA standard of one in nine homes. 

“We need to invest in building more affordable houses to give people options and to lower the percentage of social housing in this area,” he said. “Small changes will make a noticeable positive difference for everyone.”

In Western Australia there are currently more than 18,000 waiting list applications for social housing which accounts for more than 48,000 men, women and children. 

The pair also discussed homelessness in Bunbury. Mr Logan said he was surprised to hear Mr Punch report the prevalence of the issue in this city which was worse than he would have expected.

Mr Punch said there were a number of factors that lead to homelessness and the amount of people in Bunbury doing it tough was unacceptable for an emerging regional city.