ABSTRACT
The strategic planning policy system in WA attempts to achieve broad policy objectives through the specification of private rights in land and property development through a regulatory approach to the zoning of land. Strategic plan-making is undertaken by shire/local authority planning officers in the context, in the Perth region, of the Metropolitan Region Scheme, a blueprint master zoning plan. Although public consultation is mandatory in some form, the Minister for Planning remains the final decision-maker. Local authority and state department strategies require Ministerial approval, which is by no means a fait accompli. The Minister can, and does, override local considerations in a ‘wider interest’.
