Melville to 2050 Intergenerational Local Government
In January 2011, the City of Melville commissioned independent agency, MacroPlan Australia Pty Ltd, to undertake research and analysis of the impact of Commonwealth demographical forecasts on the functions of Local Government and Melville in particular.
In 2010, the Commonwealth's Intergenerational Report - Australia to 2050: Future Challenges was released, identifying three key themes relating to the future of Australia over the next 40 years:
Population - continued strong growth at a slightly slower rate, coupled with a major demographic transformation in the form of population ageing, will increase demand for and cost burden of Government services
Productivity - declines in the working age population to retiree ratio will mean that economic productivity will need to increase to ensure current levels of quality of life are maintained and improved in the future.
Participation - to compensate for the ageing of the population, efforts to increase the participation of different segments of the community in the workforce must be undertaken. This includes reinforcing the existing trend of increased labour force participation of people aged 65+.
Prompted by this report, the City of Melville took the initiative to explore and assess future implications and impacts these challenges may have on the City's diverse financial, infrastructure, services and governance roles.
The final report Melville to 2050: Intergenerational Local Government, identified six key themes for the City to consider:
- Population and Migration - reflecting the growth in population projected in the Intergenerational Report 2010
- Wealth, Health and Ageing - reflecting the impact of population ageing
- Housing, Affordability and Density - the built form and housing impact of the combination of population growth and ageing in the municipality
- Transport, Congestion and Mobility - reflecting the role of transport infrastructure in supporting productivity improvements. Also reflects the trends of work movements of people to, from and through Melville and the role of traffic congestion on the development of new activity centres and precincts
- Economic Centres, Precincts and Nodes - reflecting the need for increased productivity and economic activity to counter a reduced tax base from population ageing
- Community Facilities and Technology - reflecting the change in the demand for community facilities and services as a result of an ageing population as well as the transformative effective of information and communication technology infrastructure, delivered to improve economic productivity, on service delivery.
These and other recommendations and findings of MicroPlan’s report were considered as part of the City’s strategic corporate planning process.
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