Sustainable Human Settlements

The ecological impact of Australian settlement is unacceptable and must be reduced. The Greens (WA) believe that human settlements must be designed and built to minimise environmental harm and maximise social well-being. They must incorporate environmental, social and intergenerational measures. New urban developments must be environmentally sound, public transport friendly and must facilitate community interaction.

We believe that future urban planning needs must minimise urban sprawl, promote growth in rural and regional areas and that equitable economic and social outcomes for regional and rural areas must be sought.

Goals

The Greens (WA) want:

• the formal recognition of the traditional ownership by Aboriginal peoples of the lands and waters of Western Australia
• people friendly settlements that are beautiful to live in, work in and move through and which support ecologically sustainable practices at all levels (see the Greens (WA) Housing and Planning Policies)
• Western Australian cities and towns fully resourced to deliver community services and community governance at the local level
• our homes, businesses and community facilities run on renewable energy
• uncongested, compact urban and village developments serviced by networks of affordable and safe public transport, cycle ways and foot paths (see the Greens (WA) Planning Policy)
• community-driven, bio-regional approach to land use planning that encourages mixed-use medium and high density use
• socio-economic equity and empowered communities in order to eliminate the entrenched social disadvantage of so-called 'poverty postcodes' using a range of planning, housing affordability and economic incentive measures (see the Greens (WA) Planning, Housing and Employment Policies)

Initiatives

Across the spheres of Governance, Environment, Society and Economy, the Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

• Governance and planning
• facilitate educational, deliberative, community-wide planning processes to guide the transition toward sustainable communities (see the Greens (WA) Open & Honest Government Policy)
• strengthen the role and accountability of Local Government and involve all local authorities in undertaking Cities for Climate Protection and New Waterways programs for ecologically sustainable development (see the Greens (WA) Local Government policy)
• limit urban sprawl through the progressive redevelopment of existing suburbs
• intensify activity nodes that are already developed and create new medium and high density clusters in all urban areas from metro through to regional
• promote statewide decentralisation to encourage revival of rural and regional communities and relieve growth pressures on the Perth metropolitan area (see the Greens (WA) Planning Policy)
• increase the accountability and transparency of all State Government advisory, planning, decision-making and implementation agencies
• implement a Residential Transport Planning Initiative (RETPI) to pedestrianise neighbourhoods, create bike paths, build a light-rail network, and co-ordinate car pooling and car sharing schemes
• implement a Freight Transport Planning Initiative (FRETPI) to move freight transport away from road use and towards rail and shipping

Environment

• increase minimum requirements for energy and water use efficiency in new buildings, facilitate substantial alterations to existing buildings, and provide incentives to better these minimum requirements
• require new homes to have a minimum 7 star NatHERS rating1 or equivalent
• grade houses for energy efficiency before sale, with this information supplied to the buyer
• implement an energy efficiency access and savings initiative (EASI), whereby 10% of existing buildings are retrofitted per year to meet sustainability goals, by providing incentives and subsidies for those measures with a payback period of less than 10 years
• end our dependence on fossil fuels by creating zero-emissions 'renewable settlements' (see the Greens (WA) Climate Change, Energy and Transport Policies)
• mandate water and energy sensitive urban design principles in subdivision planning (see the Greens (WA) Water Policies)
• protect and restore urban biodiversity through an end to urban bushland clearing, an urban growth boundary and protection of metropolitan waterways (see the Greens (WA) Urban Bushland and Water Resources Policies)
• include community gardens in any proposed new subdivisions, both greenfield and brownfield, with the area to be calculated at 10% of the proposed development
• transform the "Tidy Towns" competition into a "Sustainability Challenge", based on the 2020 Youth summit proposal²

Society

• rapidly increase the diversity of housing types and the supply of affordable housing, using a range of measures to eliminate housing-related poverty (see the Greens (WA) Housing Policy)
• create walkable, child-friendly settlements supporting healthier lifestyles
• support a range of community safety initiatives, such as design, lighting, transport guards, community police, community workers and restorative justice initiatives to address crime and community security (see the Greens (WA) Justice Policy)
• support a range of incentives to artistic, educational and innovation industries to nurture the community's creative capacities (see the Greens (WA) Education Policy)
• remove barriers to participation in the life of the community for people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (see the Greens (WA) Cultural Diversity Policy)
• prioritise the establishment of locally appropriate essential services hubs at transport nodes, prioritising areas of lower socio-economic development

Economy

• plan for the diversification of the metropolitan economy in anticipation of the end of the resources boom (see the Greens (WA) Sustainable Economy Policy)
• support local manufacturing, services and employment opportunities to encourage the localisation of, and dispersal of, jobs through mixed-use urban planning principles and economic incentives (see the Greens (WA) Employment Policy)
• increase the proportion of food grown locally through a mix of labelling, land use planning and support for farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) (see the Greens (WA) Sustainable Agriculture policy)
• encourage zero-waste settlements, including reinstating local recycling facilities
• increase access to affordable home broadband internet access, especially in low income areas
• encourage the development of localised renewable energy industries to enable future growth and minimise transitional impacts
• compile a performance indicator for each city, town, and region that includes measures of economic, environmental, and social sustainability and regular report updates and comparisons

Glossary

1. National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) measures the amount of energy required to keep a home comfortable. It uses a rating out of 10 stars, like the energy rating stickers on whitegoods.
2. www.australia2020.gov.au/docs/youth_summit_communique.pdf page 6