Perth developer defends Smiths Beach proposal, promising ‘fantastic new outcome’

Three hours south of Perth, the serene Smiths Beach is a haven of natural beauty and wildlife.

Tourists flock there to enjoy the pristine, under-developed landscape while walking the Cape to Cape track.

However, the coastal stretch could soon be transformed by a 65-room hotel and 61 residences under a new plan by Perth businessman and developer Adrian Fini.

When Mr Fini purchased the site in 2014 with three other families, there was already an existing approval to develop it. He said he wanted to improve upon that plan. 

“We’ve spent … two years coming up with a vision for the site,” Mr Fini told the ABC’s 7.30.

Site with history

Smiths Beach is synonymous with one of the more scandalous chapters in Western Australia’s political history.

Lobbying around a development at Smiths in the early 2000s led to a Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) investigation embroiling former premier Brian Burke.

Mr Burke was subsequently charged with five counts of lying to the CCC investigation and acquitted on four of those charges. 

Despite a development plan being approved for the site, it has remained undisturbed for years.

Mr Fini is behind several major developments in Western Australia, including the Old Treasury buildings in Perth’s CBD.

He told 7.30 the existing development proposal would not do justice to the site and his plan would result in less density and the preservation of more high-quality vegetation.

“We definitely want to get it right,” Mr Fini said.

“What we’re trying to do is save Smiths Beach from the present approval and deliver a much better outcome at a community level and at a tourism level.

“I’ve personally sat in front of the full Council of Busselton … we’ve spoken to in excess of 200 people in the local community down there.”

Generational fight

The fight for Smiths Beach goes back decades for David Mitchell, whose family has lived there for around 40 years.

His dad, Bill, led the original protest against a development years ago.

David Mitchell, who is now leading the Save Smiths Beach Again Action Group, has a range of concerns about the new proposal, which is yet to be lodged, including commercial and residential zoning percentages, and that it sits much further west on the hill and closer to the beach than the approved plan.

“The fact is, this developer wants to increase that [footprint] by 30 per cent in an area that the EPA has already noted shouldn’t be developed and is currently approved as a future national park,” Mr Mitchell told 7.30.

Mr Fini said he had listened to the action group’s concerns after consulting with them about the plan.

“There is obviously a small number of people, led by a person who lives at the top of the hill. We’re doing what we think is, you know, the world’s best practice in delivering a fantastic new outcome,” Mr Fini said.

Mr Mitchell has been holding community consultations of his own along with other local families.

One of his main concerns is that Mr Fini is planning to lodge an application for approval under new COVID-prompted planning laws.

‘Shovel-ready projects’ given green light

Mid-last year, West Australian Planning Minister Rita Saffioti introduced a new bill, with bi-partisan support, to urgently bring forward so-called “shovel ready” projects.

For an 18-month period, the WA Planning Commission (WAPC) would be the sole decision maker for some projects, under a newly created State Development Assessment Unit.

The process means developers can avoid the usual approval system that goes through the local council.

“If [Mr Fini’s plan] is so wonderful, why does he need to go through a short-track process that allows him to bypass the local town planning scheme?” said Mr Mitchell, who used to work for Mr Fini.

In a statement to 7.30, Ms Saffioti said the new approval process was “not about fast-tracking projects — it is about supporting economic recovery through major projects that are well-designed and have investment certainty”.

Mr Fini said the process allowed for greater coordination of government departments and that politicians themselves do not respond to applications.

In Western Australia, the memory of the WA Inc era looms large. The moniker refers to a series of deals struck between big-business figures and the then Labor government led by Mr Burke in the 1980s.

The McGowan government’s perceived closeness to developers became an election issue earlier this year.

Mr Fini’s real estate development firm, Hesperia, donated more than $50,000 to WA Labor last year, something he said was not unusual.

“Hesperia is not an owner of the [Smiths Beach] site. It’s actually one of the numerous consultants on the project,” Mr Fini said.

“We donate to Liberal and Labor parties, we attend forums, lunches, dinners to ensure that we’re part of the process … so we have an understanding of what governments are thinking from both sides of [of politics].”

When asked by 7.30, given the history of the site, if he was concerned about a perception of local processes being bypassed, Mr Fini said he was not concerned.

“We’ve been in discussions and in full presentations to the local council. There are no politicians who are in the decision-making process of this project,” Mr Fini said.

To date, the WAPC has approved 13 projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars. 

Checks and balances 

Richard Muirhead is the former head of the West Australian government’s redevelopment authority who oversaw major projects under both Liberal and Labor state governments.

He told 7.30 he was concerned the new process could see an environment created where important checks and balances were left behind.

“Local governments tend to understand their local areas much better than the state government does,” Mr Muirhead said.

“You talk about cutting red tape but, in reality, what you’re doing is cutting out the checks and balances.”

Mr Muirhead said he had concerns about where the process could lead.

“It could go to the point where governments can almost handpick projects that they want to fast track, it could go to governments claiming that they made these developments happen.”

Ms Saffioti told 7.30 in a statement that no application had been lodged for a development at Smiths Beach to be determined by the WAPC.

“The minister does not determine applications,” she said in the statement.

“Any proposed development would be subject to community consultation and would undergo rigorous assessment.

“This would include by the Environmental Protection Authority, the local government and regulatory authorities such as the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the Water Corporation.”

Ms Saffioti also said local governments would have the opportunity to make submissions on proposals.

A state government spokesperson told 7.30 “meetings to determine significant development proposals are open to the public, and all agenda papers and decisions are published online”.

Mr Fini told 7.30: “We’re going to meet the highest standards ever delivered in any form of coastal village in Australia.”

The developer says he plans to lodge an application with the special unit by the end of the year.

Mr Fini said he would be happy to extend the public consultation period on the project.

The Mitchells insist they just want to ensure the best outcome for Smiths Beach.

“We aren’t anti-development. We’re happy for development, as long as it’s sustainable and it doesn’t go against the integrity of the landscape,” Bill Mitchell said.

“It’s all about the sensitivity of development that we’re on about, and that’s been the case for over 20 years. Nothing’s changed.”

Watch this story on 7.30 on ABC TV and iview.

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