Patrick Gorman (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Perth is a big and beautiful city: it is our nation's western capital, and we need big ideas for the future. It's estimated that as soon as 2021, and likely by 2040, Perth will overtake Brisbane as the third-largest city in Australia. Today in the West Australian, the Committee for Perth released new research. The title of their report is Boorloo Kworp, meaning 'Perth is good' in Noongar language. The research highlights the need for built attractions; the popularity of Perth, with visitors comparing it favourably to Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore; the need to increase the vibrancy of our city; and the opportunity to establish Perth as a renewable energy leader. But the 'one big idea' was to build a world centre for Indigenous culture. I support 100 per cent the work of the Committee for Perth in advocating this. I will fight as best I can to get them federal funding. And, when we think about the bicentenary of Perth in 2029, I note that when it came to the bicentenary of Sydney in 1988 this parliament and the federal government provided—in today's dollars—some $470 million for that national celebration. I believe we should do the same for our western capital. It is, of course, a city that we in this place all love and care about. This is a fabulous piece of research by the Committee for Perth. I commend them for releasing it. They do conduct incredibly thorough work. I encourage every member to read it.

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