One Nation joins Greens in failed bid to block North Ellenbrook housing rezoning
One Nation MLCs voted with the Greens this week in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the rezoning of land that could eventually deliver thousands of new homes north of Ellenbrook.
On Tuesday night in the Legislative Council, One Nation members Rod Caddies and Phil Scott supported two disallowance motions moved by Greens MLC Dr Brad Pettitt. The motions targeted Metropolitan Region Scheme amendments covering roughly 900 hectares of land in the North Ellenbrook (East and West) precincts, near Bullsbrook.
The amendments would shift the land from rural zoning to “Urban Deferred,” a key planning step toward future residential development under the already-approved North Ellenbrook District Structure Plans. Combined, those plans are expected to support between 13,500 and 15,400 new lots over the coming decades, potentially housing tens of thousands of people in Perth’s fast-growing north-east corridor. Local commentary has linked the broader package to up to 11,000 homes.
The motions were defeated 9 votes to 27. One Nation and the Greens were joined by a handful of other crossbenchers in supporting disallowance.
During the debate, concerns focused on whether infrastructure and environmental issues had been adequately addressed. Speakers and tabled material highlighted risks to groundwater, flooding (drawing on problems already experienced in nearby Dayton), Bush Forever sites, black-cockatoo habitat, endangered Western Swamp Tortoise habitat and other sensitive ecological areas. Questions were also raised about water, wastewater, power and transport capacity, and whether the process was premature.
One Nation’s position, consistent with comments circulating after the vote, was not framed as opposition to new housing in principle. Instead, the party backed the call for greater certainty on servicing and environmental safeguards before the land moved further along the development pathway.
The amendments themselves had already been recommended by the Western Australian Planning Commission, approved by the Governor and tabled in Parliament earlier this year. With the disallowance motions defeated, they can now progress. Further detailed planning, including local structure plans and the formal lifting of “Urban Deferred” status, will still be required before construction can begin. Initial development in the area is not expected until late 2027 or beyond, supported by state and federal funding for enabling infrastructure such as the Tonkin Highway North Ellenbrook interchange.
The outcome clears a significant planning hurdle for one of the region’s major growth areas, while underscoring ongoing tensions between the push for housing supply and calls for more thorough environmental and infrastructure readiness checks.
