In June 2003, the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure launched Dialogue with the city, 'a deliberate and conscious effort to alter the way strategic planning is undertaken in Western Australia.' (draft Network City Strategy 2004) The initiative has now developed into the 'Network City: community planning strategy for Perth and Peel' (2004), the goal of which is to highlight key elements of planning for the future - The Spatial Plan and Strategy, Implementation: Governance and Process, Planning for a Liveable City, Economy and Employment, Environment and Heritage, and Transport and Infrastructure. Strategies and actions that will enable the planning objectives to be achieved are outlined in each chapter of that report.

The PCPS will be informed by and build upon the findings of the Dialogue with the city. It is part of the implementation plan for the Network City strategy, having been identified as a key action (Strategy 5-8). A more detailed planning strategy such as the PCPS, focussing on metropolitan coastal areas, is necessary to assist in the implementation of specific recommendations affecting coastal areas and provide the guidance being sought by local councils and the Planning Minister. The PCPS provides an avenue for implementing the Network City actions within an already funded process.