❓ Ms. Evangel asks about the future use of the Sign In 2000 tiles in the Elizabeth Quay development. The Minister responds that the tiles degraded and couldn't be reused, but a photographic archive and digital copies of the signatures exist for future inclusion in the project.
AnsweredQoN 183Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ELIZABETH
QUAY — SWAN BELLS — SIGN IN 2000 TILES
183. Ms E. EVANGEL to the
Minister for Planning:
Can the minister
update the house on what the government is doing to ensure that the Sign In
2000 tiles will be used for future interaction and interpretation as part of
the development of Elizabeth Quay?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the second time. I
call the member for Mandurah for the first time. This is unnecessary. I am
spending more time on my feet than we are spending dealing with questions.
QUAY — SWAN BELLS — SIGN IN 2000 TILES
183. Ms E. EVANGEL to the
Minister for Planning:
Can the minister
update the house on what the government is doing to ensure that the Sign In
2000 tiles will be used for future interaction and interpretation as part of
the development of Elizabeth Quay?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER : Member for Cannington, I call you to order for the second time. I
call the member for Mandurah for the first time. This is unnecessary. I am
spending more time on my feet than we are spending dealing with questions.
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for the question. She obviously has a strong interest in not only this aspect
of the Elizabeth Quay project, but also the project as a whole. As with
everyone on the government side, she is a strong supporter of the project that
will help transform Perth as the capital of Western Australia. I know that there
has been a significant level of interest in the tiles that are part of what was
known as the Sign In 2000 project. I want to take the opportunity today to
assure the house and the wider community that there will be a new physical
representation of these signatures in Barrack Square, and certainly the
Elizabeth Quay project, by the time the project is completed towards the end of
next year.
It is important that people understand that improvements are
being made in Barrack Square and around the belltower as part of the Elizabeth
Quay project. In fact, about $20 million is being spent there and that will be
to the benefit of visitors to the precinct, people who choose to visit the
belltower or people who use the jetties at the terminals. To put things in context
a little more clearly, the changes being made include, firstly, accommodating
the construction of the inlet; secondly, realigning the roads in the area to
fit in with the new facilities that will be constructed and the new buildings;
thirdly, realigning the shared pedestrian and cyclepath through the precinct to
appropriately connect with the island and the pedestrian bridge that will be
built; fourthly, creating an events space in front of the belltower, so that
will be a very active space once it is completed and in use; and, fifthly,
revitalising the Barrack Square area to the same high standards and
specifications as is occurring in the Elizabeth Quay project itself, using
similar furniture and paving.
In relation to the tiles that were
inscribed with students' names, as part of the changes, they need to be
removed from the foreground of the belltower to undertake these works.
Originally, the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority intended to relocate the
tiles to a different area of the precinct as part of the Elizabeth Quay
project. Whilst removing the tiles it became —
Several members interjected.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : Mr Speaker, it is clear that the opposition is very keen on
scaremongering on this issue rather than hearing accurate information. I will provide
the accurate information to the house and then people can use it as they choose
fit. It became evident that the tiles were not strong enough to be removed
intact as they had degraded. They had also become faded since being laid. Every
effort was made to save the tiles to be relocated in the project, but testing
revealed that, unfortunately, they were too weak to be reused. Quite a lot of
them were breaking up as they were being removed. The MRA has created a
photographic archive of the tiles.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington and member for West Swan, please stop
talking among yourselves. You are distracting people.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : The MRA also has a digital copy of the original signatures for
future inclusion within the Elizabeth Quay project.
Mr
P.B. Watson : Can you tell us what is happening with the bricks?
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : I will answer that in a moment.
It is important to understand that
the signatures on the tiles were not directly placed there by the children
whose signatures are represented on them. The children signed their names on a
sheet of paper and they were transferred to the tiles, so what is on the tiles
is only a representation of their signatures. That representation will be
transferred to a new —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for West Swan; I want
you to withdraw that comment please.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I
withdraw.
Questions without Notice Resumed
The SPEAKER : I
call you to order for the first time. Minister, can you please come to a conclusion
with this answer.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : Those representations or images of the signatures will be
transferred to a new form and the MRA is currently considering how best to do
that within the precinct. The MRA is also providing all schools that
participated in the project with a digital copy of the photographic archives.
In relation to the suggestion that we provide the tiles to individuals, in
fact, there are about 2 300 tiles containing 200 000 signatures, so there are
multiple signatures on each tile. It is not possible, therefore, to return an
individual signature to the family. I can assure members and the community that
just as there has been a physical representation of the children's
signatures on the tiles, they will be recreated in a better and much longer
lasting form for the future.
for the question. She obviously has a strong interest in not only this aspect
of the Elizabeth Quay project, but also the project as a whole. As with
everyone on the government side, she is a strong supporter of the project that
will help transform Perth as the capital of Western Australia. I know that there
has been a significant level of interest in the tiles that are part of what was
known as the Sign In 2000 project. I want to take the opportunity today to
assure the house and the wider community that there will be a new physical
representation of these signatures in Barrack Square, and certainly the
Elizabeth Quay project, by the time the project is completed towards the end of
next year.
It is important that people understand that improvements are
being made in Barrack Square and around the belltower as part of the Elizabeth
Quay project. In fact, about $20 million is being spent there and that will be
to the benefit of visitors to the precinct, people who choose to visit the
belltower or people who use the jetties at the terminals. To put things in context
a little more clearly, the changes being made include, firstly, accommodating
the construction of the inlet; secondly, realigning the roads in the area to
fit in with the new facilities that will be constructed and the new buildings;
thirdly, realigning the shared pedestrian and cyclepath through the precinct to
appropriately connect with the island and the pedestrian bridge that will be
built; fourthly, creating an events space in front of the belltower, so that
will be a very active space once it is completed and in use; and, fifthly,
revitalising the Barrack Square area to the same high standards and
specifications as is occurring in the Elizabeth Quay project itself, using
similar furniture and paving.
In relation to the tiles that were
inscribed with students' names, as part of the changes, they need to be
removed from the foreground of the belltower to undertake these works.
Originally, the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority intended to relocate the
tiles to a different area of the precinct as part of the Elizabeth Quay
project. Whilst removing the tiles it became —
Several members interjected.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : Mr Speaker, it is clear that the opposition is very keen on
scaremongering on this issue rather than hearing accurate information. I will provide
the accurate information to the house and then people can use it as they choose
fit. It became evident that the tiles were not strong enough to be removed
intact as they had degraded. They had also become faded since being laid. Every
effort was made to save the tiles to be relocated in the project, but testing
revealed that, unfortunately, they were too weak to be reused. Quite a lot of
them were breaking up as they were being removed. The MRA has created a
photographic archive of the tiles.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Cannington and member for West Swan, please stop
talking among yourselves. You are distracting people.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : The MRA also has a digital copy of the original signatures for
future inclusion within the Elizabeth Quay project.
Mr
P.B. Watson : Can you tell us what is happening with the bricks?
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : I will answer that in a moment.
It is important to understand that
the signatures on the tiles were not directly placed there by the children
whose signatures are represented on them. The children signed their names on a
sheet of paper and they were transferred to the tiles, so what is on the tiles
is only a representation of their signatures. That representation will be
transferred to a new —
Ms R. Saffioti interjected.
Withdrawal of Remark
The SPEAKER : Thank you, member for West Swan; I want
you to withdraw that comment please.
Ms R. SAFFIOTI : I
withdraw.
Questions without Notice Resumed
The SPEAKER : I
call you to order for the first time. Minister, can you please come to a conclusion
with this answer.
Mr
J.H.D. DAY : Those representations or images of the signatures will be
transferred to a new form and the MRA is currently considering how best to do
that within the precinct. The MRA is also providing all schools that
participated in the project with a digital copy of the photographic archives.
In relation to the suggestion that we provide the tiles to individuals, in
fact, there are about 2 300 tiles containing 200 000 signatures, so there are
multiple signatures on each tile. It is not possible, therefore, to return an
individual signature to the family. I can assure members and the community that
just as there has been a physical representation of the children's
signatures on the tiles, they will be recreated in a better and much longer
lasting form for the future.
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