For their part, Western Australia’s government just announced a controversial recent decision that’s generated lots of buzz. They’ve called time on their plans to proceed with an expensive upgrade of the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC). Newly installed Deputy Premier Roger Cook announced that the project was not a good use of their money. Many stakeholders, including the DTU, echo his concern and challenge the federal government’s priorities. Last month, it became clear that local officials were leaning toward making a new big bet on funding. Instead, they used $1.6 billion, originally intended for the PCEC, to retrofit three large hospitals.
Now prominent figures are condemning the decision to call off plans to redevelop the PCEC. Among them is Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas, worried about the government’s funding priorities. He claimed that the cancelled upgrade would have provided a huge economic return on investment. This included the flow-on effects of an estimated $180 million in annual revenue and the ability to draw over 70,000 intl/interstate delegates.
Financial Reallocation and Concerns
The reallocation of funds from the PCEC project to healthcare initiatives has raised questions about the government’s commitment to enhancing business tourism in Perth. A marked departure from past practice, Cook defended the choice by speaking to the need for prioritization in public spending.
“We have to make choices, that’s what government has to do,” – Roger Cook
Even if the economic logic made sense, critics such as Zempilas pointed out a glaring hypocrisy in government spending priorities. He criticized the GOP for shifting the money towards sports investments instead of infrastructure that would attract tourists.
“We’re missing out on those high-paying business tourists that would be coming, yet they continue to prioritize government spending on the rugby team and $217 million on a racetrack that I am yet to find the demand for,” – Basil Zempilas
Cook was once on board with the PCEC upgrade, but he has recently changed his mind. He noted that the upgrade would have presented significant logistical hurdles. Consequently, this would have required them to be cancelling their events.
Stakeholder Reactions
Local business and tourism stakeholders expressed their frustration at the government’s decision. Most would agree that the PCEC redevelopment was key to keeping Perth’s competitive edge intact as a place to host the country’s biggest business events. Rita Saffioti, one of the central figures in this debate, called the current PCEC building a “cockroach.” In her testimony she noted the critical need for a new, state of the art facility.
Zempilas was particularly scathing about the way the government announced the news, saying it raised people’s hopes unnecessarily.
“Don’t make the announcement, don’t have the press conference, don’t get everybody all excited and rock backwards and forwards on your heels like you’re the cat that got the cream, show the pretty pictures and then say, ‘oh it was too difficult we’re not going to do it,’” – Basil Zempilas
He stated that he would like to see more transparency around how funding decisions are made, especially for projects that are competing against one another.
“I’d love to see the three business cases for the rugby team, for the race track and for the PCEC redevelopment laid out next to each other so that we could all decide with all of the information before us,” – Basil Zempilas
Future Prospects for Perth’s Infrastructure
Given these changes, Cook unveiled innovative new template plans. The new convention centre will be in the heart of Perth’s Central Business District (CBD). He said that this proposed facility would be more appropriate to better serve Perth’s needs and would rectify what he called an “historic wrong.”
“Our city deserves better than a shed on the river and this will right an historic wrong,” – Roger Cook
Even Cook recognized the difficulties involved in building facilities in tight spaces such as the prospective site of the PCEC. He went on to tell us that engineering issues had been a major reason for going back and forth on the feasibility of upgrading the existing house.
“It’s a constrained site, it’s a very complex site, we have a lot of engineering challenges,” – Roger Cook
He mentioned that attracting high-profile business events is essential for Perth’s economic growth and emphasized that upgrading facilities is vital for future success.
