Western Australia's population will double over the next 40 years on the back of a continuing resources boom, Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls says.
Mr Grylls was addressing the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) business forum in Perth when he said WA's current mining, oil and gas boom was not unlike the gold rush of the 1890s.
"WA's supercharged resources sector is fuelling the fastest population growth in the nation," the minister said.
"Over the next 40 years, two million extra people will move into WA on the predicted population growth, with 25 per cent going to regional WA.
"That's an extra 500,000 people - so we are talking about a doubling of the population in regional cities and towns."
Mr Grylls said there were predictions WA's resources boom would last another "30-80 years", noting the state would need to meet the constant demand for workers.
"We need to avoid a repeat of what happened in the north of this state just a few years ago at the time of the first resources 'boom'," Mr Grylls said.
"The unprecedented upturn in resource activity led to heavy demand for a skilled and unskilled workforce.
"Towns were ill-equipped to cope, infrastructure and services inadequate for the unexpected surge, and pressure for housing resulted in soaring prices."
Mr Grylls said $1 billion would be spent developing northwest cities in the Pilbara region - where most of the mining activity was - boosting the populations of Port Hedland and Karratha from 15,000 to more than 50,000.
Meanwhile, nine "supertowns" had been identified in the southwest and would each receive $85.5 million to help with infrastructure and rapidly growing populations.
The nine towns are: Katanning, Collie, Esperance, Northam, Jurien Bay, Morawa, Boddington, Manjimup and Margaret River.
