The Great Southern is Western Australia’s southernmost region, bordered by the Southern Ocean where the coast stretches for approximately 250 kilometres. Spanning over 39,007 square kilometres, the region represents 1.5% of Western Australia’s total land mass and extends inland for 200 kilometres.

Deemed as one of the most liveable regions in WA, the Great Southern is renowned for its unspoilt natural environment including white sand beaches, tall timber forests, wildflowers and a spectacular rugged coastline complete with whales, dolphins and other marine life, the region has an inspiring and diverse tourism offering.

The Great Southern region is known for its primary production, natural and harvested fishing, aquaculture, award winning vineyards, fine food and wine culture, ecotourism and natural attractions.

The City of Albany, the State’s oldest European settlement (settled in 1826) is the region’s administrative, business and financial hub.

The Great Southern is Western Australia’s southernmost region, bordered by the Southern Ocean where the coast stretches for approximately 250 kilometres. Spanning over 39,007 square kilometres, the region represents 1.5% of Western Australia’s total land mass and extends inland for 200 kilometres.

Deemed as one of the most liveable regions in WA, the Great Southern is renowned for its unspoilt natural environment including white sand beaches, tall timber forests, wildflowers and a spectacular rugged coastline complete with whales, dolphins and other marine life, the region has an inspiring and diverse tourism offering.

The Great Southern region is known for its primary production, natural and harvested fishing, aquaculture, award winning vineyards, fine food and wine culture, ecotourism and natural attractions.

The City of Albany, the State’s oldest European settlement (settled in 1826) is the region’s administrative, business and financial hub.

The Great Southern is Western Australia’s southernmost region, bordered by the Southern Ocean where the coast stretches for approximately 250 kilometres. Spanning over 39,007 square kilometres, the region represents 1.5% of Western Australia’s total land mass and extends inland for 200 kilometres.

Deemed as one of the most liveable regions in WA, the Great Southern is renowned for its unspoilt natural environment including white sand beaches, tall timber forests, wildflowers and a spectacular rugged coastline complete with whales, dolphins and other marine life, the region has an inspiring and diverse tourism offering.

The Great Southern region is known for its primary production, natural and harvested fishing, aquaculture, award winning vineyards, fine food and wine culture, ecotourism and natural attractions.

The City of Albany, the State’s oldest European settlement (settled in 1826) is the region’s administrative, business and financial hub.

The coastal part of the Great Southern region enjoys a Mediterranean climate with typically warm summers and cool, wet winters. Rainfall decreases and temperature increases moving from the coast to inland areas. The north and east of the region is considered to be semi-arid with hot and dry conditions. Higher rainfall areas tend to support a wider range and greater diversity of industry activities.

The Great Southern is Western Australia’s southernmost region, bordered by the Southern Ocean where the coast stretches for approximately 250 kilometres. Spanning over 39,007 square kilometres, the region represents 1.5% of Western Australia’s total land mass and extends inland for 200 kilometres.

Deemed as one of the most liveable regions in WA, the Great Southern is renowned for its unspoilt natural environment including white sand beaches, tall timber forests, wildflowers and a spectacular rugged coastline complete with whales, dolphins and other marine life, the region has an inspiring and diverse tourism offering.

The Great Southern region is known for its primary production, natural and harvested fishing, aquaculture, award winning vineyards, fine food and wine culture, ecotourism and natural attractions.

The City of Albany, the State’s oldest European settlement (settled in 1826) is the region’s administrative, business and financial hub.

The moderate coastal climate and clean image associated with the Great Southern has enabled the Region to become a prime centre for production of high value fruits, nuts and vegetables including strawberries, potatoes, and asparagus. Being free from major diseases and pests, the region is an ideal location for fruit and vegetable production.

Productive land and generally reliable growing conditions support premium food producers in the region. Wagyu beef, truffles, seafood, dairy products, organic foods, pantry products and more attract attention for their quality and provenance.

The woodchip industry continues to be one of the primary exporters in the region. The dominant species planted are Tasmanian blue gums and pines.

The Great Southern is the State’s second largest wine grape producing region, with many wines receiving international recognition. In 2021, the top five varieties in the Great Southern were Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Semillon.

The commercial fishing industry on the south coast is an important contributor to the socioeconomic health of the region. There is a wide diversity of products including pilchards, salmon, crabs, herring, estuarine species, deep sea table fish, sharks, rock lobster and aquaculture species such as oysters and mussels

Great Southern aquaculture took a step change in 2017 with the opening of the Albany Shellfish Hatchery. The hatchery supplies shellfish spat to aquaculture operations around Western Australia’s coastline, and to operations elsewhere in Australia.

Is Australia’s housing crisis self-inflicted? If so, then we need a series of reforms to reverse it
The best long-term solution to the structural problems of the rental crisis is to build more public and/or affordable housing.

Make renting more Sustainable. Increase rent assistance or look at rental caps, similar to countries in Europe and some US states, long term tenancy agreements with incentives for all parties to the agreement.

Build to Rent
The Build to Rent property sector is growing in Australia – this new class of housing is focused on providing high quality purpose designed and built rental stock, creating an additional housing choice for Australian renters with greater security and service.

Build to Rent developments are typically owned by institutional investors for the long term and the owner could be the developer/ongoing building manager. The format provides tenants with the flexibility of renting with the security of home ownership.

Build-to-Rent developments are usually large-scale residential properties specifically designed, built and managed for long-term ownership and rental.

Social Housing
In the 40 years between 1981 and 2021 the percentage of all Australian households living in social housing (i.e. state owned and managed public housing or community managed housing) has ranged from 4.9 per cent in 1981 to 3.8 per cent in 2021. Such a drop in the proportion of social housing raises the question of has Australia achieved the balance right, and also just what is the right level of social housing for Australia?

In 2018 Statistics Canada said 628,700 Canadian households, more than one in ten renter households nationally (13.5% of 4,652,500), were living in social and affordable housing.
In New Zealand, as of 30 June 2021, there were 74,337 public housing households. This equates to 4.0% of households living in social housing.

In England (in 2018) 17% of households (3.9 million) lived in social housing, while the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes that 1.2 million households live in public housing, which is 0.98 per cent of all housing.

The tourism sector is a key component of the economy within the region. The coastline is rugged, exciting and accessible, with Misery Beach being named Australia’s best in 2022 by Tourism Australia.

Little Beach, Blossoms Beach, Greens Pool and Peaceful Bay are other Great Southern beaches recommended by the Australia’s South West Regional Tourism Organisation. The region also includes some of the oldest granite ranges in the world including the Stirling and Porongurup Ranges.

The Region includes part of the 1.5million hectare Biosphere Reserve of the Fitzgerald River National Park and is recognised as a place of environmental significance by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The Reserve ranks among the most important areas for plant biodiversity in the world and contains over 250 rare or geographically restricted plant and animal species, about many of which little is known. Of the 5,000 or so vascular plant species native to this area, 79% are endemic.

The Great Southern tourism experience has expanded in recent years with a four-star hotel in Albany - additional cellar doors and restaurants throughout the region, significant upgrades to regional trails, and the spectacular Bremer Bay Orca experience where the deep-sea Bremer Canyon Sub-Basin attracts Killer Whales and other unique marine life.

The Great Southern is the fifth most visited region in the State of WA, with around 740,000 overnight visitors each year. This includes 67,000 interstate visitors and 61,000 international visitors.

High-performing waste and recycling systems which see materials recovered, reused and recycled can and do reduce this impact. The creation of a circular economy has the potential to harness the economic value of these materials that would otherwise be lost.

A circular economy means transitioning from the current take-make-use and dispose system to a material efficiency approach which aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility and value for as long as possible.

Western Australians are consciously reusing, reprocessing, recycling and avoiding waste at an increasing rate. We are generating less waste and recycling more. However, to protect our unique environment from the impacts of waste and litter, and to maximise the benefits of good waste management, more work needs to be done.

Plantation Energy Australia (PEA) is a densified biomass fuel pellet manufacturing company in Albany. The pellets are made from non-commercial timber and harvest residues from sustainably managed plantations. PEA expect to export up to 250 000 tonnes of pellets per year through the port.

Composting or having a worm farm at home is an inexpensive and natural way to reduce your waste and benefit your garden! You can recycle your vegetable scraps, fallen leaves, lawn clippings and other kitchen and garden waste into a fantastic organic material to improve your garden soil.