Minister Carey advocacy, density & great design

More than 80 ACA members, alongside colleagues from the AIA, HIA, Consult Australia, the Architects Board and key national and state sponsors, gathered for a candid conversation with the Hon. John Carey MLA. The Minister is responsible for housing supply, social and affordable homes, major health infrastructure, and planning and land reforms across Western Australia.

ACA WA Vice-President Kate Fitzgerald facilitated the conversation, with ACA WA President Kukame McPierzie opening the event by emphasising the importance of the architecture profession working together with government and industry as one.

Minister Carey was direct and unambiguous. He acknowledged the talent in the room and declared that great architecture defines a great city. He was equally clear about the challenges the state faces. Capacity to build is constrained, cost-of-living pressure is real and acute, and community conversation around density and affordable housing is often fraught.

Key points from the Minister included:

Housing supply is the priority

WA cannot continue to build outwards. Growth must go upwards, and that requires community buy-in that doesn’t exist everywhere.

Community resistance is a real problem

Wherever the government proposes build-to-rent or affordable housing, objections follow, particularly around parking, height and the presence of social housing. The Minister needs advocates, and he was clear that the architects in the room are perfectly positioned to be them.

We don’t have enough builders

Thousands of apartments are approved but WA lacks the workforce to build them. The government wants to grow the modular building sector and is offering pre-sale guarantees to get projects moving.

Productivity reform is coming

The next rounds of R-Code reforms are significant. The government is open to measures that increase productivity and is actively looking at how professions, including architects, can fill skills and expertise gaps in development assessment, building supervision and quality assurance.

Design quality matters

The Minister gave a generous shout-out to Government Architect Emma Williamson and the funded Pattern Book, a practical tool for delivering affordable, well-designed gentle density. He wants more great design, not less.

In closing, the Minister was confident in his legacy: improved policy settings to enable a denser, better-connected city and to house thousands of vulnerable people through well-designed social and affordable housing.