As Western Australia’s population surpassed three million people last week, the state’s local government peak voiced concerns the milestone will place more pressures on councils to provide services that meet community needs and expectations.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Population Clock, WA reached the three-million mark on Thursday 24 October.

While recognising it as a significant event in the state’s history, WA Local Government Association president Karen Chappel said the state government needs to acknowledge the challenges of population growth, particularly in addressing the shortage of affordable housing.

“100% of our 139 member councils view housing as a major challenge in their local government area,” Chappel said. “We are concerned about the supply of rental housing and the affordability of housing in general.”

To address the issue, WALGA is asking the state government to work with councils to unlock underutilised government-owned land for housing solutions and calling on Development WA to support housing developments in areas where private developers will not enter.

The WALGA is also asking the government to review the Government Regional Housing Program – designed to support the attraction and retention of dedicated professionals to remote and regional areas of the state.

“We need GROH to be more responsive and coordinated so local governments can invest in GROH housing,” Chappel said.

As well as housing pressures, WALGA recognises that a population of three million will also place strain on community facilities such as recreation centres, swimming pools, public libraries and parks.

“We are looking to the state to bolster the very successful but over-stretched Community Sports and Recreation Facilities Fund to cater for the inevitable increased usage of council community facilities,” Chappel said. “We are asking for CSRFF to increase from $20 million to $30 million each year.”