97% Said No-
But They approved It Anyway:
The Kwinana McDonald’s Betrayal
The Facts About the Kwinana McDonald’s Approval
How Local Voices Were Left Out:
The decision to put a new McDonald’s drive-through right in the ALDI car park on Meares Avenue has left a lot of Kwinana families fed up. Looking at how the City of Kwinana Council and the State Government handled this project, it feels like everyday locals were squeezed out of the process, leaving ratepaying residents with no real say.
97% of Locals Said NO
When the public was asked for feedback, the answer from the community was almost unanimous: 97% of responses opposed the proposal.
Locals raised severe, real-world concerns:
- Losing Half the Parking: Slashing the ALDI car park in half, despite Kwinana being the second-fastest-growing city in WA.
- Safety Hazards for Shoppers: Pedestrians and ALDI shoppers forced to navigate a heavily congested, high-traffic car park.
- Environmental Loss: Cutting down three 50-year-old mature gum trees and removing valuable green space.
- Traffic Gridlock: Diverting traffic from two-lane Gilmore Avenue into single-lane Meares Avenue, creating bottlenecking and spilling drive-through queues onto surrounding roads.
- School Zone Hazards: Approving traffic crossings that directly intersect pathways used by school children.
- 24/7 Noise Pollution: Round-the-clock drive-through speaker noise and 4:00 AM garbage trucks right behind residential homes.
- Ratepayers Footing the Bill: Residents left paying $7,000 for traffic-calming roundabouts to fix problems created by the development.
How the Planning System Works (And Where Council Stood)
Under Western Australian planning laws, local councillors are legally prohibited from taking a public stance or expressing an opinion on a proposed development before the formal decision is made.
This rule exists because if a council does not present a neutral assessment, the local government can face legal action or appeals from developers.
However, these legal limits apply BEFORE the decision.
Once a planning decision has been made, there is no law stopping councillors or council leadership from publicly voicing their disapproval, speaking out for their community, or explaining why they believe the outcome was wrong for the area. Yet, in the case of the ALDI car park McDonald’s, that strong post-decision public pushback simply did not happen.
Instead of standing up after the fact or pushing for broader changes to protect local amenity:
The Planning Report: Before the final vote, the City of Kwinana’s planning department submitted an official report to the State’s Development Assessment Panel (DAP) raising no overall objection to the approval. While two local councillors voted against it on the day, the official administrative report had already set the track.
Staying Silent: Council leadership remained largely silent both during the process and after the decision was finalized, rather than publicly championing the 97% of residents who spoke up.
Dismissing Community Frustration: On local Facebook groups and community chat forums, Councillor Matthew Rowse repeatedly engaged with residents who voiced disapproval—often arguing down their concerns, defending the process, and criticizing local complaints rather than validating community frustration.
“Working as Intended”?
When questioned on social media about why 97% of community feedback seemed to count for so little, Kwinana Councillor Matthew Rowse commented that the system was “working as intended.”
To many locals, that comment sums up the frustration:
Hiding Behind Rules: While state planning laws (DAPs) give state panels the final say, residents expect local representatives to advocate for them—not just accept a system that brushes aside nearly all local feedback.
State Rules vs. Local Needs: When 97% opposing views result in an approval anyway, residents are left feeling that state rules matter more than local ratepayer concerns.
A Fair Question for Ratepayers: If the community’s voice carries this little weight in local planning, Kwinana residents have every right to ask what their local rates and local representation are actually delivering for them.
Our View: Planning decisions in Kwinana should serve the people who actually live, work, and raise families here—not leave them feeling ignored.
—Angry Locals with Megaphones (ALWM Group)