Back room strategy under way to improve social outcomes for Augusta-Margaret River shire

A coalition of local groups is quietly working behind the scenes to improve how State Government-funded services penetrate the region. Longstanding concerns already reported by the Times identified a range of services across housing, mental health, business mentorship and others not sufficiently funded to extend beyond home base in Bunbury, according to pundits and on-the-ground volunteers. However, those concerns are leading to action as the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River increases its lobbying to State MPs as well as their Federal counterparts seeking to overturn a view the region was a well-off enclave of wealthy retirees not needing the same social services as bigger centres. The Times understands a push featuring groups including Mindful Margaret River, Margaret River Community Centre and local police is at work in the background, liaising with the shire but also applying their own pressure. Few involved were willing to discuss the subject with the Times while they try to bring WA’s Labor Government on board. Key among the topics of concern to local stakeholders were the stalled funding promises for Margaret River Senior High School’s expansion, a master plan to expand Margaret River Hospital, shortfalls in social and mental health services, public transport, improved conservation resources for the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, as well as parity with Perth residents for general cost-of-living relief. Former Mindful Margaret River chairman Stuart Hicks, who was not involved in the lobbying efforts, commended the need for action to improve local outcomes. It was Mr Hicks who first spoke out in 2020 after the closure of a Department of Communities office in Margaret River which Communities themselves argued was technically never an office and therefore hadn’t closed. He told the Times this week it was an uphill battle to overturn sentiments that Margaret River was “the land of happy holidays” and residents all enjoyed a golden quality of life. “The shadows of Bunbury and to a lesser extent Busselton tend to conceal our region from the viewpoint of Perth,” he said. “Our region has an underbelly of social disadvantage which is invisible to people.” One commentator said Labor hubris flowing from its landslide 2021 election win made wringing concessions from Cabinet ministers difficult. The source said it was a double-edged sword because Labor was widely tipped to loosen the purse strings from its mining-rich surplus as campaigning ramped up for next year’s State election. However, that strategy also meant it was difficult to notch up any wins until political traction could flow through.