❓ Mr. Hyde questions the Minister for Planning about the justification for projecting nine million annual visitors to the Perth Waterfront project, referencing lower-than-expected belltower visitation. The Minister deflects, focusing on the broader project and the belltower's historical significance.
AnsweredQoN 55Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
PERTH WATERFRONT PROJECT — PROJECTED
VISITOR NUMBERS
55. Mr J.N. HYDE to the Minister for Planning:
The previous Liberal–National government predicted in
its 1998–99 budget papers that the number of annual visitors to the
belltower would be 403 000.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr J.N. HYDE : The
Swan Bells Foundation annual report for 2010–11 revealed that only 62 301
people visited. Given the claim on the Department of Planning's website
that nine million people a year will be visiting the government's Perth
Waterfront project, I ask —
(1) Can the
minister precisely detail exactly how the figure of nine million was
calculated?
(2) Can the
minister precisely detail exactly what these nine million people will be doing
and going to?
(3) Can the
minister precisely state in what year an annual visitation by nine million
people will be first achieved?
VISITOR NUMBERS
55. Mr J.N. HYDE to the Minister for Planning:
The previous Liberal–National government predicted in
its 1998–99 budget papers that the number of annual visitors to the
belltower would be 403 000.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Members!
Mr J.N. HYDE : The
Swan Bells Foundation annual report for 2010–11 revealed that only 62 301
people visited. Given the claim on the Department of Planning's website
that nine million people a year will be visiting the government's Perth
Waterfront project, I ask —
(1) Can the
minister precisely detail exactly how the figure of nine million was
calculated?
(2) Can the
minister precisely detail exactly what these nine million people will be doing
and going to?
(3) Can the
minister precisely state in what year an annual visitation by nine million
people will be first achieved?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(3)
It is reassuring to know that the member for Perth is considering the big
issues about the development of the Perth CBD, the Perth metropolitan area and
Western Australia. All he is doing is demonstrating his absolute fixation with
the belltower—a relatively minor issue in the broader landscape of
Perth. Whatever might have been predicted in 1998 or 1999 about visitor numbers
is not something that I have a very detailed knowledge of, I will admit; I was
a member of the cabinet of the then government, but I was actually dealing with
the health portfolio at the time and the belltower did not really feature very
prominently in the discussions in which I was involved. The reality is that the
belltower is there; maybe the visitor numbers, albeit significant, are not
quite as high as might have been predicted more than a decade or so ago, but
the structure actually houses some very significant bells that came from
St-Martin-in-the-Fields and, as I recall, were accepted by the then government
of the state of Western Australia when the Labor Party was in office, so they
had to go somewhere. In the context of the wider development of the Barrack
Square area, to which I referred in the previous answer I gave, Barrack Square
will be made a more active and engaging area than it is now, particularly
through the Perth Waterfront development. I expect that the belltower will be a
very important part of the overall cultural and tourist landscape within that
area.
I trust that I have now convinced
the member for Perth that the Perth Waterfront project, as we have planned, is
actually worth supporting. The member for Perth should dissociate himself from
the previous views he has expressed.
Point of Order
Mr J.N. HYDE : In
relation to relevance, the minister is going nowhere near the key question of justifying
the projection of nine million people.
The SPEAKER : I
observe, member for Perth, that the minister has sat down, so I will give you
the opportunity to ask a supplementary question.
It is reassuring to know that the member for Perth is considering the big
issues about the development of the Perth CBD, the Perth metropolitan area and
Western Australia. All he is doing is demonstrating his absolute fixation with
the belltower—a relatively minor issue in the broader landscape of
Perth. Whatever might have been predicted in 1998 or 1999 about visitor numbers
is not something that I have a very detailed knowledge of, I will admit; I was
a member of the cabinet of the then government, but I was actually dealing with
the health portfolio at the time and the belltower did not really feature very
prominently in the discussions in which I was involved. The reality is that the
belltower is there; maybe the visitor numbers, albeit significant, are not
quite as high as might have been predicted more than a decade or so ago, but
the structure actually houses some very significant bells that came from
St-Martin-in-the-Fields and, as I recall, were accepted by the then government
of the state of Western Australia when the Labor Party was in office, so they
had to go somewhere. In the context of the wider development of the Barrack
Square area, to which I referred in the previous answer I gave, Barrack Square
will be made a more active and engaging area than it is now, particularly
through the Perth Waterfront development. I expect that the belltower will be a
very important part of the overall cultural and tourist landscape within that
area.
I trust that I have now convinced
the member for Perth that the Perth Waterfront project, as we have planned, is
actually worth supporting. The member for Perth should dissociate himself from
the previous views he has expressed.
Point of Order
Mr J.N. HYDE : In
relation to relevance, the minister is going nowhere near the key question of justifying
the projection of nine million people.
The SPEAKER : I
observe, member for Perth, that the minister has sat down, so I will give you
the opportunity to ask a supplementary question.
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