Better infrastructure is one of the biggest concerns for the Armadale-Gosnells area according to Labor candidate for Burt Matt Keogh.
Mr Keogh previously ran for the federal seat of Canning at last year’s by-election, losing out to the Liberal’s Andrew Hastie.
The new seat of Burt takes in most of the City of Armadale, which was in the northern part of Canning, as well as the City of Gosnells.
Mr Keogh said many of the issues he was hearing from residents were the same this election as they were last year.
“The same issues continue to apply throughout the seat of Burt,” he said. “The broken promises and cuts to schools and hospitals as well as the changes to Medicare.
“People are still concerned about infrastructure investment and things like Armadale Road, which we really led the charge on funding both the widening and the bridge.”
Mr Keogh said other infrastructure projects that were necessary for the area were Denny Avenue, the indoor aquatic centre in Armadale and the extension of the Thornlie train line to connect to the Mandurah line through Canning Vale.
He said he also wanted to see more work done to encourage people into the area and to showcase its natural beauty by encouraging local hospitality businesses.
“The area is much maligned and part of that is the crime rate and WA Labor has made that commitment about a 24-hour police station and getting resources for that,” he said.
“We also want to make sure that there’s the right investment into drug rehab and mental health services but what I’d really like to see is just more effort.
“What I’ve found from dragging friends out here is that they look around and say oh this is really pretty, you’ve got the hills and you’ve actually got some wineries and orchards.”
He said encouraging more local hospitality businesses would also create more jobs.
