This is your city. You live and work here. We want to be sustainable into the future. We want you to take us there.
2029 and Beyond is a community-based planning process initiated by the City of Greater Geraldton and its partners, to address the challenges and opportunities facing our City and region. The project responds to requests in the community for citizens to be more actively involved in planning for their future.
Through this process, the City will offer everyone a chance to participate in planning and collaboration to create the kind of healthy, sustainable and creative city region our community desires.
2029 and Beyond is a once in a generation opportunity: something very few other city regions have embarked upon.
Our City Region is changing and growing. Thanks to major infrastructure developments such as the potential northern rail link and the port at Oakajee, the region is set to grow a large skilled workforce. Over $6 billion will be invested in new iron ore mines and the region is also bidding for the exciting Square Kilometre Array. Science, information and communication technology will be also further enhanced by the National Broadband Network rollout, not to mention the growth of the renewable energy production sector.
As our population grows there are many factors that will impact on our enviable lifestyle. These include the global trends such as climate change, dwindling resources and changes in social demographics. All of these factors have an impact on the industries those before us depended on, such as the agricultural and fishing industries. New industries will grow and understanding these changes is critical to shaping our future city and region.
We know that our City Region is already a great place for people from all walks of life to live, work and play. But, in order to keep the things we love, we need to start planning now to take advantage of the opportunities that are coming our way.
To create a truly sustainable community we need to think beyond only the sustainability of our natural environment. The 2029 and Beyond project considers all the aspects that impact on the sustainability of the community by taking into account 5 pillars of sustainability and looking into some key questions for our future.
ENVIRONMENT: Are we contributing to protecting and enhancing the natural environment?
SOCIAL: Are we contributing to a healthy, creative and diverse community?
CULTURAL: Are we contributing to a healthy culture and lifestyle with a strong sense of identity, belonging and creativity?
ECONOMIC: Are we building a strong and diverse economy which provides for the long-term sustainability and viability of our region?
GOVERNANCE: Are we providing governance systems that will empower our community to create their desired future and reach their aspirations?
Our project is a partnership, a collaboration between community, government and industry.
Together we can create ideas, find common ground and determine a future for the region that will be sustainable – socially, culturally, environmentally and economically.
This process is providing opportunities for you to discuss your hopes, concerns and good ideas with others in the community, and then develop these conversations into action proposals. If extra support is needed, these proposals will be seriously considered for support by our Alliance Governance Group.
The purpose of the project is to collaborate with the community so that we can work together to respond effectively to the opportunities and threats of the future. The project will also ensure that the concerns, issues and views of the community are integrated into plans such as the Greater Geraldton Region Plan and Region Structure Plan, the Local Planning Strategy and the Town Planning Scheme.
2029 and Beyond's ultimate outcome will be a Community Action Plan for the Greater Geraldton Region.
The year 2029 may seem like a strange year to choose as the name for this future planning project. However the year 2029 holds a special significance for Australia and our region.
Importantly the year 2029 will commemorate 40,000 years that Aboriginal people have lived in Australia.
Also of note, in the year 2029 we will celebrate 400 years of European settlement. On the 16 November 1629, Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert, sailing in the Dutch vessel the Sardam, ordered two mutineers from the Batavia Mutiny to be abandoned on the Western Australian coast, probably at the mouth of the Hutt River, 450 km north of where Perth now stands and a short distance from the City of Geraldton.
As a regional centre, it is important to acknowledge the importance of our adjoining region. The 2029 and Beyond project includes both the Shire of Mullewa and the Shire of Chapman Valley, and both have representatin on the Alliance Governance Group. The project recognises there is extremely strong community and economic points of interest between the city (urban) and the hinterland (farmland, mines and towns). The term "City Region" is commonly used to represent this, and research shows that the term "City Region" better reflects communities of interest and economies, and not just local Government boundaries.
