Perth’s centralised employment hinders outer region growth

Since the 1970’s successive strategic plans have attempted to decentralise economic activity and encourage businesses to locate themselves out of Perth’s CBD in an effort to reduce commuting issues and increase employment opportunities across the region. The latest FACTBase report released by the Committee for Perth has found that despite decades of this kind of planning, the Perth and Peel region retains its centralised metropolitan structure of its early economic and planning history.

“The last Census showed that 124,679 people worked in the Perth City, most of whom either drive or caught public transport into the CBD. While this number of people coming into the city might simplify transport linkages and support economies of agglomeration, such as having a concentration of people and knowledge networks, the sheer number of businesses operating in the city comes at the expense of industry developing in Perth’s outer regions,” said Committee for Perth CEO, Marion Fulker.