The South West is the most popular regional tourist destination in Western Australia. 
CEO's Message
Your city, your region
If we asked ourselves the question "how do we want to see our city or our region in 25 years time" then all sorts of possible answers would come forward.
This week the Board of the Commission is thinking about that question and deciding what will be the priorities for the Commission over the next five years in helping to build our South West for the future.
An important part of this process is imagining what kind of city we want for the future. Is it a city for families, for business, for industry, for young people, for women, for older people or all of the above? Is it a city that is innovative, that values new ideas and can create new opportunities or will it be a city that does the same thing day in and day out?
And what about the rest of the South West? Have we protected the environment effectively? Do we have interesting and vibrant towns to live in? Is housing affordable and do people have choice in size and style? Do we have enough jobs and what sort of jobs are they?
Within our region, there are plenty of ideas about the future and because we are a powerhouse economy there are plenty of opportunities for debate and differences of opinion. Engaging effectively with the community is an important part of the future and effectively working our way through all the differences of opinion is a major part of success.
Over the next five years the Commission will be working closely with the City of Bunbury and with all the other local governments of the South West to help build a future based on your ideas and input. Our aim is very simple: For the South West to be an attractive and interesting place to live. We want the region to be a place with a variety of job and career opportunities both for younger and older people that values innovation and new ideas and is willing to try things out. Importantly, we want a South West that respects and values its unique environmental heritage.
These values do not need to be exclusive - we just need to work together and be committed to achieving success and recognise that everyone has a stake in our collective future.
Don Punch
South West Development Commission CEO
August 2010
